Al Sadd edged out rivals Al Hilal last night thanks to a solitary goal from midfielder Khalfan Ibrahim Khalfan. The win served as a measure of revenge for the Wolves who lost to the Saudi giants at the quarter final stage of last year’s ACL competition. 

The match held at the Jassim Bin Hamad stadium was a tight, tame affair until the 30^th minute when winger Hasan Al Haydos played in Khalfan, who rounded two Hilal defenders to powerfully finish past goalkeeper Abdullah Al Sdairy.

From that point on Hilal burst into life, very nearly equalizing through midfielder Abdullah Otayf . However his shot was calmly taken by Wolves keeper Saad Al Sheeb. Hilal looked menacing  and could of gone into the break on even terms had Korea Republic defender Kwak Tae-Hwi not headed over from eight yards out after an inch-perfect cross from Thiago Neves in first half stoppage time.

In the second half Hilal brought on Greek international Georgios Samaras, who was looking for his first goal in the AFC Champions League. However Sadd rallied at the start of the second period and nearly doubled their lead. With Ibrahim’s powerful shot which was tipped away by Hilal keeper Al Sdairy.

As the second half progressed, the visitors started to dominate as they sought to restore parity. With 15 minutes left on the clock Samaras played in Otayf, but his control let him down at the vital moment and the ball rolled softly into the grateful Al Sheeb’s hands.

Two minutes later Al Hilal had their best chance to level the tie when the creative Brazillian Thiago Neves crossed into forward Khalid Kaabi, but he was unfortunate to see his header from eight yards strike the outside of the post.

The away side continued to push for the equalizer with the game being played out almost entirely in the Sadd half. The Wolves remained resolute however, and shut out the game to ensure the QSL side lead group C, having been unbeaten in the first two games. 

“I’m extremely happy with this win as we deserved to get this result and the players were determined to get a good victory. I want to thank the players for the good performance that they have shown in the match and their determination to win,” said Al Sadd head coach Ammouta.

“The result is important for us and we are now going in the right direction. The road is still long but winning against the runners-up of last year will give us a big boost to continue our good performances in the competition.”