Al-Ahli defeats Auckland City to reach the second round of the Confederations Cup

Saudi club Al Ahli advanced to the second round of the FIFA Club World Cup, defeating New Zealand’s Auckland City 1-0 in a match where the visitors played with ten men, at the Inma Stadium in Jeddah. The match’s only goal was scored by substitute Saleh Al-Shammar in the 63rd minute. Auckland City played the final minutes with ten men after their English striker Sam Cosgrove was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge in the 87th minute. The Asian champions, who won the title in the past two seasons, will now face South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, the African Champions League winners, in the second round. Al Ahli had been eliminated in the second round of the previous edition, losing 1-3 to Egypt’s Pyramids FC, the African champions. The first attacking attempt by the visitors came from Logan Rogerson, who fired a low right-footed shot from close range on the left side inside the penalty area, but Al Ahli’s Senegalese captain and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy made a brilliant save with his foot in the 18th minute. Auckland City did not let up after their first attempt; they added a second, this time a header from inside the box by Rogerson again, following a direct free kick from the left side taken by Francis De Vries, but Mendy shone once more, deflecting it into a corner in the 22nd minute. Spiros Patsatzis ended the first half’s attacking efforts with a powerful right-footed shot from outside the box, but Wood stood firm again, pushing it into a corner in the 40th minute. At the start of the second half, New Zealand manager Luke Caserley suffered a heavy blow with the injury to his Japanese captain, Hiroki Sakai, prompting him to bring on Callum Elliott in his place in the 48th minute. On the other side, Al Ahli coach Boro Primorac removed Galeno and Al-Jahni, bringing on Al-Shammar and Ukrainian Artem Bondarenko in their places in the 62nd minute. Al-Shammar quickly rewarded his coach for the trust placed in him, unleashing the joy of Al Ahli fans. Spiros Patsatzis carried the ball from the left side from the center of the pitch to the outskirts of Auckland City’s penalty area, then passed to Al-Shammar, who fired a low right-footed shot from close range that passed between Wood’s legs in the 63rd minute.