AlKass Digital
Doha, Qatar- Al Sadd went down to German club Füchse Berlin 26:20 in the semi-finals of the IHF Super Globe event, here on Wednesday.
Incidentally, the two teams met each other for the third time in a row and the result continued to be in Berlin's favour on each of these occasions.
However, Wednesday's match was far from what the scoreline showed, with the the two-time Super Globe champions facing a determined team effort from the hosts with stand-out performances from Khaled Haj Youssef and Amir Denguir. Not to forget that Youssef is the top scorer of the match with eight goals, so far.
Al Sadd played a good game, but Berlin were tactically well-prepared with a strong defence. Al Sadd goalkeeper Rasheed Yussuf accounted for some fine saves, but they were not enough in the face of the European giants.
Berlin coach Velimir Petkovic tried some fresh tactics to confuse Qatar and that brought in the desire result. In fact, Berlin had recorded a 9:2 lead by the 17th minute.
Al Sadd made a remarkable comeback from the seven-goal deficit to a distance of two at half-time, but the second 30 minutes gave Berlin the desired edge. At the start of the final 10 minutes, Berlin led 22:16 and were in good control of the game. The European side cruised to the final whistle and celebrated a six-goal win at the buzzer.