Al Sadd Fight Back To Secure Draw Against Al Wasl

Dubai: Substitute Abdulla Al Yazidi scored the equaliser as Al Sadd earned a 1-1 draw against Al Wasl in their AFC Champions League Elite Round of 16 first leg at Zabeel Stadium in Dubai yesterday.

The draw leaves both teams level, with the second leg on March 10 at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium set to determine their fate.

Ali Saleh gave Al Wasl an early lead but a thumping Al Yazidi header in 68th minute ensured a share of the spoils for Qatar's Al Sadd.

The UAE side got off to a dream start as they went ahead with Saleh capitalising on Al Sadd's inability to clear a corner kick, slamming home from close range to beat goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham at his near post.

A slip from Ahmed Suhail nearly gave Al Wasl the chance to increase their lead six minutes later as Joao Pedro raced through on goal but the Al Sadd defence was able to recover to block the Brazilian's effort from the edge of the box.

Abdulla Al Yazidi salvaged a draw for Al Sadd in the first leg.

Opportunities continued to fall the way of Al Wasl with Saleh wasting an easy chance in the 21st minute after Pedro showed good tenacity to prevent the ball from going out, only to see his cutback sent flying high over the bar by the Emirati international.

The Qatari side showed signs of life as the half went on with Suhail sending a free-kick straight at Khaled Al Senani before Rafael Mujica's strike was tipped onto the post by the Al Wasl custodian to keep his team ahead going into the break.

After the interval, Al Wasl probed for another early goal and nearly found one in the 48th minute when Pedro's shot on the half-turn looked to be heading for the back of the net but Youcef Atal intervened on the line.

That was to prove costly as Akram Afif, peripheral for much of the game, turned up when most needed, delivering a perfect cross to the far post for Al Yazidi to thump home a header for the equaliser.

Al Wasl were a width of the crossbar away from taking a lead into the return fixture when Saleh's corner kick found Fabio de Lima unmarked but the latter saw his header crash against the frame of the goal as both sides settled for the draw.

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