AFC Champions League: Bounedjah inspired Al Sadd hammer Al Faisaly
(Report by Sudesh Baniya, Photos by Renjith Raju)
Doha: It was one of those distinctive nights at Jassim bin Hamad where Baghdad Bounedjah would emerge from the irk to score three on the winning side, setting his face against the disdain.
Meeting Mohammed Waad’s plain sailing ball off the left, the Algerian’s darting run between two defenders, followed by two classic incisive finishes, were enough for Al Sadd to register their maiden win in this year’s AFC Champions League on Monday evening.
In fact, the writing was on the wall for the home side. Two goals were ruled out for offside before the first forty-five and multiple attempts on the away end started from the kick-off. The promise became merrier when Al Faisaly’s Nizar Al-Rashdan was set off towards the end of the second half.
The havoc began for the away side ten minutes before the hour mark. Gonzalo Plata’s impressive run on the break, followed by a cheeky flick to beat the chaos inside the box sent Noureddin Ateyah the other way, and the ball on the back of the net. Within two minutes, Al Faisaly found themselves four down, capped off by Moustafa Mashal’s finish on the break.
The party for the home fans did not stop just then, who sang in unison with the traveling fans – the songs of River to the Sea with the Palestinian flag draping all over the stadium. Baghdad Bounedjah’s third on the night came as Ali Asad laid off for an easy finish.
“It was a positive pressure,” Bounedjah said of the match he made his own. “We knew that any mistake would take us out, and from here on, every remaining game will be like a final for us.”
It was well and truly a night of redemption, not only for the Algerian striker. Ali Asad and Mohamed Waad took on the playmaking duties for the night, penetrating through the opposition midfield swiftly on multiple occasions, even in Yousuf Abdurisag’s strike to call it six for the night.
“We deserved to win,” Al Sadd head coach Bruno Miguel said in the post-match conference, comparing the positives with the haunting opener at home back in September.
Hassan Al-Haydos’ injury will be upsetting for Miguel, however, on a night that almost seemed perfect. The skipper was stretchered off the pitch on the brink of the halftime whistle, and his travel to Amman on November 6, at least for the time being, might be uncertain for the return fixture.
