The Whites defeat Al-Sahel with a 'hat-trick'

Kuwait strengthened their lead at the top of the Premier League table after defeating Al-Sahel 3-0 in the match played late yesterday, concluding the eighth round of fixtures at the Friendship and Peace Stadium. The White Team’s tally rose to 19 points, with one match in hand against Kazma, while Al-Sahel remained stuck on four points in last place.

The first half ended with Kuwait taking a 1-0 lead through Mohammed Marhoon, who finished a cross from Amr Abdel-Fattah in the 45+1st minute. Youssef Nasser added the second goal in the 60th minute, capitalizing on a setup by Mohammed Marhoon and exploiting the confusion of defender Mauricio to slot the ball past goalkeeper Fawaz Al-Dosari. Youssef Nasser completed his brace in the 88th minute from a penalty kick, awarded after Mubarak Al-Mahamid was fouled by Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi; he sent the spot-kick to the goalkeeper’s left.

Kuwait had no difficulty securing the victory, dominating the match through their control and movement, largely thanks to the influence of Amr Abdel-Fattah, Faisal Zayed, and Abdullah Al-Qarazi in midfield, alongside Mohammed Marhoon’s free runs and Yassin Al-Kheneisi’s positioning up front. Despite this superiority, Kuwait faced a compact defensive block from Al-Sahel, which relied on this approach throughout both halves, making life difficult for the White Team, particularly in the first half. Although Kuwait created some chances, they were thwarted by the outstanding performance of goalkeeper Fawaz Al-Dosari, and the opening goal did not come until late in the half.

In the second half, with the match continuing in the same vein and Al-Sahel reduced to ten men after Mohammed Al-Rashed was sent off for a violent foul on Amr Abdel-Fattah at the end of the first half, Kuwait coach Firas Al-Khatib made several changes to assess the team’s tactical options, introducing Youssef Nasser, Ahmed Al-Dhafiri, Hamad Al-Sanousi, Mubarak Al-Mahamid, and Mohammed Faraih. Kuwait’s play shifted toward a more cautious approach, relying on frequent passing to break down the deep-lying defense.

Kuwait managed to increase their lead by exploiting gaps that appeared in Al-Sahel’s defense. Al-Sahel, playing pragmatically due to the technical disparity, had their coach Saud Al-Dumaid, in his first match in charge, deploy a defensive system led by Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi and Brazilian Mauricio, with Omar Al-Anzi and Nasser Al-Qahtani dropping deep to support. They attempted quick transitions through the movements of Jaber Al-Ajaji and Brazilian Claiton, and by feeding the ball to Brazilian Alan up front. However, the numerical disadvantage prevented them from posing a significant threat to Kuwaiti goalkeeper Khaled Al-Rashidi.

Struggling in the second half due to being a man down, Al-Sahel tried to revitalize their squad by bringing on Hamza Al-Sarraf, Youssef Badi, Mohammed Al-Alawi, and Faisal Ajib. However, their attacks remained ineffective due to the slow pace of their forward transitions. Al-Sahel did manage to create a chance to reduce the deficit in the 83rd minute when Brazilian Alan took a penalty, but his unusual execution was comfortably saved by Khaled Al-Rashidi.