Al-Sahel scores through Al-Sulaibikhat and Souza

Al-Sahel defeated Al-Sulaibikhat 1-0 in their match played tonight at Abdullah Al-Khalifa Stadium, as part of the first round of the Zain Premier League. With this result, Al-Sahel secured three crucial points, while the losers left empty-handed. The only goal was scored by Brazilian Alan de Souza in the 57th minute.

The match was technically poor overall, with both teams searching for each other’s mistakes despite Al-Sulaibikhat’s relative dominance in the first half. They came close to scoring from a set-piece taken by Daniel da Silva, which was tapped in by compatriot Alisson Pepe, but the shot rebounded off the left post of goalkeeper Fawaz Al-Dosari (25th minute).

In the second half, Al-Sahel became more active. A solo effort by Ghazi Al-Otaibi penetrated the defensive line and delivered the ball to Souza, who did not hesitate to fire a powerful shot into the net of goalkeeper Abdulrahman Al-Sharifi (57th minute). Al-Sahel missed a chance to double their lead when Clenton Jesus’s shot narrowly missed the left post (81st minute), ending the match with a valuable victory for Al-Sahel.

The match was officiated by referee Hussein Jamal, who was credited with his courage for not awarding a penalty to Al-Sulaibikhat in the 93rd minute, despite the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) recommending it.