Al Taawoun eliminate Al Duhail from AFC Champions League
Al Duhail's 2020 AFC Champions League came to an inglorious end after suffering a 1-0 defeat in the hands of Saudi Arabia's Al Taawoun FC in their Group C encounter at the Education City Stadium yesterday.
Meanwhile, 2011 champions Al Sadd, who have already secured their Round-of-16 ticket, were beaten 2-1 by Sepahan FC in Group D in the other fixture of the day as the group stages of the tournament concluded.
History seemed not to be on the sides of Al Duhail, ahead of the match, as the team had never beaten a Saudi club in the continental tournament. They had lost two of their three such encounters to date and conceding at least two goals in each game (conceded a total of seven, scored three).
The team had equally alternated between a win and a loss in their last six games of the tournament.
Al Taawoun, who suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat to Sharjah on Matchday Five, went into the match needing a win to advance to the Round-of-16, and they looked to be heading out of the competition until bandaged Australian striker Mitchell Duke headed home the winner with four minutes left on the clock.
The dramatic win not only took Al Taawoun into a Round-of-16 match-up with domestic rivals Al Nassr but also eliminated Qatar champions Al Duhail, whose major success in the tournament until date was reaching the quarterfinals in 2013 and 2015.
The two sides had met on Matchday Two when Al Taawoun scored a 2-0 home win courtesy of goals from Mohamed al-Sahlawi and Abdulmajeed al-Swat.
The first half was cagey and featured missed chances by Mohamed Musa, Edmilson Junior and Dudu for Al Duhail as well as Cedric Amissi for the Saudi side. Deep into stoppage time in the first half, Cassio expertly denied Almoez Ali who struck from the left.
Junior threatened 55 minutes in, and after a break by his side, the Belgian cut inside from the left flank beating two players before curling an effort in from range that Cassio gratefully clutched into his arms.
Amissi got another chance to make his mark on proceedings when he attempted a free-kick on goal after his teammate, al-Sahlawi, was brought down in the flank. Amissi's shot was timid, and keeper Mohamed al-Bakri punched away with ease.
The Burundi man got the same chance again from the left flank, this time forcing al-Bakri into a save that resulted in a corner; the one which saw a clashing of heads between Ali and Australian striker Mitchell Duke that took a few minutes of stoppage to treat.
The match exploded into life in the final 10 minutes, with Al Duhail missing a golden chance to open the scoring through Ismail Mohamed, who was through on goal with just the keeper to beat and chipped, but substitute Saad Yaslam managed to reach the ball and clear off the line.
A bandaged Duke then dramatically sealed the tie for Al Taawoun after breaking free from his marker in the area to meet Sultan Mandash's corner and put the ball past al-Bakri.
The result sees Al Duhail, who bowed out in the Round-of-16 last year after what was a closely fought two-legged tie against city-rivals Al Sadd, eliminated while Al Taawoun qualify to the Round-of-16 for the first time in their history.
Persepolis' 4-0 win over Sharjah in the other Group C fixture means Al Taawoun will face fellow Saudi side Al Nassr in the next round.
Al Sadd, meanwhile, confirmed their second-placed finish in Group D despite their loss to Sepahan FC as the group stages were concluded yesterday.
Goals by Shabazzadeh and Reza Mirzaei on either side of the break secured Sepahan FC the win against an Al Sadd side which head coach Xavi made ten changes to from their previous match.
Despite the loss, Xavi said he was happy with the performance of his youngsters who went toe-to-toe against the more experienced Iranians.
"I am not happy because we lost, but I am proud of my young players for their performances. I am happy because we had possession of the ball, and we created chances but committed two mistakes, and as a result, conceded two goals, this is the nature of playing in the AFC Champions League," the former Barcelona star said.
"In the second half, we brought in some experienced players like Abdelkarim Hassan and Boualem Khoukhi, and we showed character to score a goal and try to get back into the game.
“We can only go far in this competition if we are focused. You cannot win the AFC Champions League without being fully focused. The small details make all the difference in this competition, and we cannot afford to make mistakes in the knockout stages.”
Al Sadd's will next face another Iranian team in the Round-of-16, in a repeat of the 2018 AFC Champions League semi-final, on Sunday.
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