Al-Shahaniya team booked its seat in the semi-finals of the Emir Football Championship, after defeating Al-Gharafa today by penalty kicks (4/3) after they tied in regular time with three goals each in the confrontation that took place at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium for the quarter-finals of the tournament. The fifty-first edition of the competition.
Al-Shahaniya continued its adventure in the tournament by eliminating Al-Gharafa, the third in the golden record, with seven trophies, registering its presence as the first team from the second division to reach the semi-finals of the tournament, to set a date with the qualifier from facing Al-Sadd and Umm Salal, where they will meet the day after tomorrow, Tuesday, at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.
Al-Shahaniya advanced with two clean goals at the end of the first half, with the signing of Abdulaziz Al-Yahri and Amir Rustani in the 18th and 44th minutes, before Malian Othman Coulibaly added the third goal in the 60th minute, while Moayad Hassan, Yassine Brahimi and Isaac Belfodil scored for Al-Gharafa in the 48th, 67th and 83rd minutes. Al-Shahaniya gave him preference during the first half, and his coach, Alvaro Mejia, relied on the 4/2/3/1 playing system through offensive effectiveness and defensive organization that enabled him to tighten control over the opponent’s playing keys, in addition to his ability to quickly switch from defense to attack, and pressure the ball carrier in The last third of the opponent’s court, which forced the Al-Gharafa defense to make mistakes. On the other hand, Al-Gharafa suffered at the level of the back lines, and lacked focus in the attacks that were available to him in light of the poor positioning of the attackers inside the box. Al-Gharafa threatened Al-Shahaniya’s goal in the first minutes by Algerian midfielder Yassine Brahimi, who aimed a ball inside the area, but the right-hand post of Al-Shahaniya goalkeeper Bautista Burki responded with his ball, before his compatriot Mehdi Tahrat returned and entered the penalty area and shot, but Malian defender Othman Coulibaly removed the danger.
Abdulaziz Al-Yahri surprised Al-Gharafa goalkeeper Youssef Hassan with a powerful shot from outside the area that hit the net amidst the astonishment of the Al-Gharafa defense in the 18th minute. Al-Shahaniya defense was able to play with balance and cohesion in the back lines and knew how to stop the keys to the opponent’s play, relying on the experience of Peter Borough United’s English defender "second degree " Previously, Al-Shahaniya took advantage of the opponent’s defensive collapse and doubled the score through its player Amir Rustani, who received a long ball from his colleague Muhammad Saleh Aba Shaar to confront Al-Gharafa goalkeeper and put the ball into the net a minute before the end of the original time of the first half, leaving Al-Gharafa to the break, two goals late.
In the second half, Al-Gharafa felt the embarrassment of the situation and sought to reduce the difference early, and the Portuguese coach, Pedro Martinez, made some changes in the middle by involving the experienced player Moayed Hassan, who managed, three minutes after the whistle at the start of the second half, to reduce the difference when he took advantage of the rebound by mistake from the Al-Shahaniya goalkeeper to complete it. In the net. In the midst of Al-Gharafa’s preoccupation with attempts to adjust the score and his rush to the front positions, Malian Osman Coulibaly succeeded in adding the third goal for Al-Shahaniya in the 60th minute when the ball reached him inside the small square and out of control.
Al-Gharafa maintained its hopes of returning to the result by reducing the difference in the 76th minute by Algerian Yassine Brahimi, who managed, after a single effort, to penetrate the penalty area and shoot the left scissors out of reach of goalkeeper Bautista Burki, before former German player Isaac Belfodil of Hertha Berlin managed to adjust the result in The 83rd minute, with a powerful shot inside the penalty area, Al Shahania goalkeeper stood by.
Al-Shahaniya was affected on the physical level, to retreat to the back lines in light of Al-Gharafa’s offensive efforts, which posed a great danger during the 11 minutes that referee Khaled Nabet considered as time instead of wasted, most notably a header from Ahmed Alaa, which settled in the hands of Al-Shahaniya’s goalkeeper, and a lost ball by Yassin Brahimi passed over the crossbar, to end the regular time. In a tie with three goals each, the penalty shootout was decided, which smiled at Al Shahania with a score of 4/3, as Niall Mason, Amir Rustani, Ibrahima Jay and Mustafa Jalal scored for him, and Pasco Jesus missed him.
While Yassin Brahimi, Ahmed Alaa and Hammam Al-Amin scored for Al-Gharafa, and Isaac Belfodil and Moayad Hassan missed him. Al-Gharafa reached this role after its victory over Qatar with four goals to one, while Al-Shahaniya managed to eliminate Al-Wakra with a penalty shootout (3/1) after they tied with a goal for each of them. at the original time.
