Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Manama: Kuwaiti side Qadsia Sports Club are through to the semi-finals of the AFC Cup for the third time in five seasons after a late own goal by Mohammad Al Daoud saw them come from two goals down against Bahraini side Al Hidd to draw 2-2 and advance on away goals.
Goals either side of half-time by Orok Akarandut and Ahmed Al Khattal had given Al Hidd a 2-0 lead at the National Stadium in Manama and a 3-1 aggregate advantage in the quarter-final.
But Danijel Subotic pulled a goal back from the penalty spot midway through the second half before Al Daoud inadvertently turned Hamad Aman's cross into his own net in the 89th minute to send Qadsia through to a last four meeting with Indonesia's Persipura Jayapura.
With Al Hidd getting an away goal in the 1-1 draw in the first leg in Kuwait City, the onus was on Qadsia to score and the 2013 runners-up exerted much of the early pressure with Subotic firing wide from just outside the box in the 12th minute and Bader Al Mutwa sending a free-kick from the edge of the box just over the crossbar.
But it was the home side that would take the lead in the 25th minute when Akarandut received the ball on the right edge of the Qadsia box and accelerated past the challenge of Khaled Ebrahim before he fired the ball across goalkeeper Nawaf Al Khaldi into the far corner of the net.
Al Mutwa had a chance to level the score for Qadsia just three minutes later when he got behind defender Ebrahim Al Obaidli but fired straight at the chest of Abbas Ahmed when he found himself one-on-one with the Al Hidd goalkeeper.
Al Daoud then made a crucial intervention, hacking the ball clear from inside his six-yard box just as Alvaro Silva looked set to pounce on Subotic's knock-down.
Qadsia continued to exert much of the pressure after the break but they found themselves 2-0 in the 57th minute after a fine individual effort by Al Khattal. The striker brought the ball in from the right flank and left a couple of defenders in his wake before he drilled an angled right-footed shot into the opposite corner of the net.
Al Hidd appeared to be cruising towards the semi-finals but they gave the Kuwaiti side an opportunity to get back into the game in the 67th minute when Ahmad Atwi pulled down Al Mutwa inside the box to concede a penalty.
Subotic kept his composure with the spot kick, sending Abbas Ahmed the wrong way to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Needing one more goal to win the tie on away goals, Qadsia turned up the pressure and Al Mutwa went close with a scuffed shot that forced Ahmed into a diving save.
Their efforts looked to be in vain but in the 89th minute, substitute Hamad Aman skipped past the challenge of Akarandut on the right flank before whipping in a cross that Al Daoud, under no apparent pressure, volleyed into his own net.
Despite a generous amount of stoppage time, Al Hidd were unable to find a response as they bowed out of the competition on away goals.
COACHES' REACTIONS:
Qadsia experience crucial concedes Hidd's Bejaoui
Photo: WSG