Al-Abyad loses to Milton Downs 1-0

Kuwait SC’s first team suffered a 0-1 defeat to English side Milton Keynes Dons in a friendly match played this Friday afternoon in London, the British capital. The match marked the team’s first outing during their training camp, which runs until August 15.

The “Whites” will play three additional friendly matches in the coming days. They will face Portsmouth (Championship) next Wednesday in their second London fixture, followed by a match against English second-division side Barnet. The name of the fourth opponent has not yet been determined, according to the request of the technical staff led by Portuguese manager Alexandre Santos, who succeeded Montenegrin Nebojša Jovović.

Alexandre Santos insisted on fielding two different lineups across the two halves against Milton Keynes Dons. In the first half, he started with Saud Al-Houshan in goal, alongside Sami Al-Sana, Arsene Zola, Fahd Hamoud, Mohsen Falah, Ahmed Al-Dhafiri, Rida Hani, Mohammed Marhoon, Mohammed Daham, Salman Al-Adwani, and Youssef Nasser. The first half ended with Milton Keynes Dons leading 1-0.

In the second half, the technical staff made a complete change of personnel, starting with Khalid Al-Rashidi in goal, and including Mohammed Faraih, Ali Hussein, Hassan Hamdan, Mehdi Barhama, Abdullah Al-Qarazi, Carlinhos Vinicius, Hamad Al-Sanousi, Mubarak Al-Mohammadi, Amr Abdel Fattah, and Ibrahim Kamel. This was done to assess the readiness of all players, their physical progress, and their tactical responsiveness to the Portuguese manager’s approach.

- Sami Al-Sana controls the ball ahead of a Milton Keynes Dons striker (Kuwait SC Media Center)