Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saida: Lebanese club Al Ahed cruised into the AFC Cup quarter-finals after a heavy 4-0 defeat of Syria’s Al Wahda in their Round of 16 clash at Saida Municipal Stadim on Tuesday.
Abbas Atwi put the hosts in front on 12 minutes before Abdulrazak Al Hussein doubled the advantage from the spot with 16 minutes remaining.
Mouhamadou Drame’s 86th minute goal then ended any hopes of a Al Wahda comeback with Abdulkader Deka’s own-goal in stoppage-time the icing on the cake for Al Ahed.
The win means Al Ahed return to the AFC Cup quarter-finals for just the second time having reached the last eight in their debut campaign in 2005.
“I’m happy with the result tonight. We struggled in the first half because our opponents were organised and we were lucky to finish it with a 1-0 lead,” said Al Ahed coach Robert Jaspet.
“In the second half, we were good physically and tactically and took advantage of our chances.
“We proved tonight that we have excellent players whether those who started the match or the substitutes. I want to thank the players for their great spirit and hopefully we can continue as far as we can in the competition.”
The visitors did, though, begin proceedings on the front foot, dominating the early action before Al Ahed opened the scoring against the run of the play inside the first quarter of an hour.
Hassan Chaito headed a cross from the left into the path of onrushing Lebanon striker Atwi and the 31-year-old fired a powerful shot past Al Wahda goalkeeper Ibrahim Almeh.
Al Wahda struggled to respond to going behind and after the interval the deficit was increased further.
Tunisian midfielder Youssef Mouihbi was fouled by Almeh inside the area on 74 minutes and Al Ahed’s Syrian midfielder Al Husein sent his compatriot the wrong way as he converted the resulting penalty kick.
And 12 minutes later Senegalese forward Drame made sure of the result. After combining with Tarek El Ali, Drame was on the receiving end of the former’s cross and he duly headed home.
And with the match into added time there was still time for one more goal for Al Ahed.
Hussein Dakik's cross from the right side was blocked by Almeh but the ball ricocheted off teammate Abdulkader Deka and went into his own net to end a forgettable night for the inaugural AFC Cup runners-up.
“The big result is harsh for us because we had a good performance and it doesn’t reflect how we played tonight,” said Al Wahda coach Raefat Mohammad.
“In the first half we struggled offensively. We didn’t score goals and this affected us.
“The second goal of Al Ahed was the turning point in the match. It affected the spirit of our players and it was hard to make a comeback after that.”
Photo: Lagardère Sports