Dempo gave us a hard time: Sadd coach Fossati
HERALD SPORTS REPORTER
PANJIM, FEB 20
Al Sadd coach Jorge Fossati conceded his side’s passage to the group stage of AFC Champions League was not quite as comfortable as he would have liked it following a 2-0 victory over Dempo SC at Sheik Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Saturday.
The hosts took the lead just after the half hour through Abdul Kader Keita but then had to wait until a minute before time to make the victory certain when second-half substitute Leandro struck.
Though Al Sadd dominated for large parts of the match, Dempo still caused one or two scares and Fossati admitted he could not relax until the second goal finally went in.
“I was hoping that our players would not underestimate the opponent and I was a little bit worried after Keita scored the opener. But when Leandro scored the second goal, I was comfortable,” he said.
“Dempo showed a big performance last night and our team lacked the final touch in front of the goal. The match was interesting for the two teams and they had a good performance,” said Fossati.
“Our opponents gave us a hard time. We went into the game with big pressure after the heavy schedule that we have in the League and hopefully we will not be affected by it in the coming weeks.
“We tried to give some rest for our big players as we were afraid that they will be tired due to the busy schedule.”
The Qataris will play in Group B of the AFC Champions League with Al Nassr, Esteghlal and Pakhtakor.
“Group B is very hard and we should expect tough matches,” added Fossati.
“The match against Esteghlal will be very hard as it is our opening match and we will try our best to win the game.”
Dempo coach Armando Colaco felt his players can be proud of their performance and is confident the experience they gained from the match will prove important in the future.
“I’m satisfied with the performance of my boys despite the defeat last night,” he said.
“We have learnt a lot and it was a special game for us. I believe that playing against Al Sadd will give us a lot of lessons.”
“I was hoping to win against Al Sadd but our team was not lucky, especially because Al Sadd have big players who have good experience like Keita and Leandro in addition to Yusef Ahmed, who has a good future.”
“Ahmed gave us a hard time with his movement and our defenders were distracted by his good performance.”
Al Sadd kept Algerian international and former Porstmouth left wingback Nadir Belhadj on the bench but two other World Cuppers Kader Keita (Ivory Coast) and Lee Jung Soo (South Korea) were named in the starting line-up
Al Sadd’s dominance was clear right from the start of the game and they created the first chance of the night after only eight minutes when Ali Afif’s shot flew just wide of the Dempo goal.
But Dempo soon started to get into the game themselves and after 15 minutes they had their first chance when Soleye Ranti Martins made a good run before firing a powerful shot that was narrowly off target.
Al Sadd threatened four minutes later when Hasan Al Haydos struck a fierce effort from outside the area wide but went ahead in the 33rd minute when Cote d’Ivoire striker Keita headed home from Naser Nabeel’s cross.
Dempo, eager not to miss out on a place in the AFC Champions League for the second time in three years, went on the attack after that and came close to equalising six minutes before the break when a shot from Beto (Roberto Mendes da Silva) from the edge of the area was denied by Saad Al Sheeb.
But Dempo’s eagerness to attack was leaving them in danger of falling further behind and Al Sadd had another chance before the break when Majdi Siddiq cut a pass to Yusef Ahmed, whose shot was saved by Dempo goalkeeper Subhasish Roy.
Al Sadd started the second half strongly and went close in the 49th minute when Afif’s first-time shot went wide before Al Haydos’s effort was held by Roy.
Martins almost brought Dempo level though in the 53rd minute when he drilled an effort from the edge of the area but Al Sadd keeper Saad Al Sheeb did well to tip the ball over the crossbar.
Despite that chance it was Al Sadd who continued to dominate and nearly scored a second goal four minutes after the hour mark when Afif made his way into the right side of the area but his shot was pushed away by Roy for a corner.
Sadd finally wrapped up the victory a minute before time when Brazilian striker Leandro lofted a shot over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Armando Colaco made a very offensive change by bringing on Joaquim Abranches in place of Peter Carvalho as Dempo went all out for the equaliser. But Sadd defended solidly and then in the 89th minute substitute Leandro killed the game off by scoring his side’s second.
Dempo fought bravely but in the end the gulf in class between the two sides was evident as Al Sadd deservedly won the game.
The four-time Indian champions will now feature in Group A of the AFC Cup, which also has Al Ansar (Lebanon), Al Tilal (Yemen) and Nasaf (Uzbekistan).
Dempo starting line-up: Subhasish Roychowdhury; Dominic Noronha, Mahesh Gawli, Rouhollah Samieinia, Samir Naik; Peter Carvalho (Joaquim Abranches 77’), Climax Lawrence (Godwin Franco 88’), Ogba Kalu Nnanna, Clifford Miranda; Beto and Ranti Martins.
Unused substitutes: Marcus Peixoto, Covan Lawrence, Clifton Gonsalves, Joe Rodrigues and Laxmikanth Kattimani.
