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The Brigadier falls in front of Al-Liot
“Al-Shabaab” team won a thrilling victory (3-2) over their guest “Al-Ittihad” in the postponed match of the 28th round of the Roshen Professional League championship on Sunday evening.
Al-Ittihad’s balance is frozen on 55 points in fifth place in the Roshen League table, so its qualification for the Asian Elite Play-offs has been postponed to the final stage in light of a fierce competition with sixth-placed Al-Taawoon.
Al-Shabaab, on the other hand, took their tally to 35 in the tournament’s 13th-placed table with their fourth win under Algeria’s Noureddine Zikri.
Ali Al-Bulayhi (54th minute), Harun Kamara (57th minute), Belgian Yannick Carrasco (86th minute) scored a youth hat-trick, while Al-Ittihad couple was scored by Algerian Houssem Ouar (66th minute) and Portuguese Danilo Pereira (90+8th minute).
Continuous attacks
The opening minutes of the Al-Ittihad vs Al-Shabaab clash saw a strong start from both sides, with a flurry of counter-attacks and dangerous chances that almost turned into early goals.
In the third minute, Muhannad Al-Shanketi missed a great goal-scoring opportunity when he was one-on-one with the Al-Shabaab goal after a great pass, but he smashed the ball into the keeper’s body to concede Al-Ittihad’s first goal.
Al-Shabaab responded quickly through Carrasco, who fired a powerful shot past the left-hand post in the seventh minute, before Branwell repeated the effort two minutes later with a similar effort that also failed to find its way into the net.
As the excitement continued, Hamam Al-Hamami produced a dangerous shot in the 17th minute that went in front of the Al-Ittihad defence, just a minute earlier the same player returned with a rocket which was brilliantly blocked by Predrag Rajkovic.
Marcelo Grohe stood out in the 39th minute to snuff out a dangerous chance for Al-Ittihad after keeping out Mario Mittai’s powerful shot in the box, keeping the tie amid continued pressure and an exchange of attacks between the two teams.
Ali Al-Bulayhi stops fighting
As the second half began and the pace of the match clearly picked up, Al-Shabaab managed to crack Al-Ittihad’s defence, particularly in the 54th minute, after defender Ali Al-Bulaihi managed to make his first mark of the game.
The goal came after a perfect move in the box and Al-Bulaihi rose to it in the absence of defensive control, heading it perfectly to the keeper’s left to claim Al-Shabaab’s first goal at a crucial moment in the life of the encounter.
The goal gave the Al-Shabaab players a huge morale boost and prompted the team to defend more organizedly, relying on quick rebounds, while Al-Ittihad looked to respond quickly to equalize and bring the game back to square one under continued pressure from their own players after the delay.
Youth increases suffering
Al-Ittihad had barely recovered from the shock of the first goal before they got another quick blow to complicate their position in the game after Al-Shabaab managed to extend their lead with a second goal in the 57th minute.
The goal came after an organized and quick attack, which Yannick Carrasco finished with a perfect pass into the penalty area, setting up Harun Kamara in front of the goal, for the latter to take advantage of the opportunity to slot the ball into the net for his team’s second goal.
With this goal, Al-Shabaab added to Al-Ittihad’s suffering in the match and increased the pressure on “The General”, who needed to react quickly to close the gap and get back into the game with the visitors clearly ahead.
Awar reduces the difference
In the 67th minute, Al-Ittihad managed to get back into the game after Algerian star Houssem Ouar managed to reduce the deficit with a superb goal that gave his team hope back.
The goal came after a glaring defensive error by Al-Shabaab players inside their own area, and Awar made the most of a clearance to grab the ball before powerfully firing it into the net to claim Al-Ittihad’s first goal of the match.
The goal gave Al-Ittihad a huge morale boost and increased the attacking pressure on Al-Shabaab’s defense with continued attempts to equalize in the remaining minutes, amid a match that grew more exciting and fast-paced as it approached its decisive stages.
Carrasco solves it
In addition to aiming to reduce Al-Ittihad’s goal difference, Al-Shabaab responded with strong attacking pressure to regain control of the game as they more than once powered their efforts against Al-Amed’s goal.
The team looked more aggressive offensively, with a variety of attacks between the wings and deep, putting Al-Ittihad’s defense under constant pressure. Al-Shabaab almost managed to extend their lead again if it wasn’t for the goalkeeper’s vigilance and the brilliance of the back line to clear some dangerous balls.
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With this performance, Al-Shabaab tried to absorb Al-Ittihad’s enthusiasm after the goal and reassert their attacking style in light of an open match that saw exchanges of attacks and a clear increase in excitement levels in the following minutes.
In the 86th minute, Al-Shabaab’s continued attacking pressure culminated in a superb third goal by Belgian star Yannick Carrasco.
The goal came after an organized attack in which Al-Shabaab took advantage of the space in the Al-Ittihad defense and Carrasco found the ball on the edge of the box before unleashing a left-footed volley that found its way into the net with no keeper to deal with.
Portugal’s Danilo Pereira scored Al-Ittihad’s second goal in the 8th minute of stoppage time with a superb header, but it was not enough to equalise.
