Al-Sadd Qatari repeated the scenario of their famous match against Al-Ahli Youth in the AFC Champions League last month and once again managed to turn the tables in the final minutes to snatch the UAE-Qatar Super Shield title for the first time in their history. The match posed a special challenge for Al-Ahli Youth, who entered the game aiming to win the title for the third consecutive time, but Al-Sadd brought back to mind the night of the Asian victory (4-2), in which they scored three goals after the 90th minute, to repeat the same scenario yesterday and seal the shield in the final moments through Brazilian star Roberto Firmino, who scored the third goal in the 96th minute. Al-Ahli Youth took the lead in the 30th minute with a powerful shot from Yuri César before Firmino equalized from a penalty spot in the 54th minute, while Akram Afif scored the go-ahead goal in the 75th minute. The team did not fall short, and everyone gave everything they could. Firmino equalized the score before Al-Mansouri brought Al-Ahli Youth back into the game shortly after with a well-executed header. Firmino then scored the winning goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Al-Ahli Youth goalkeeper Hamad Al-Maqbali expressed his regret over losing the UAE-Qatar Super Shield title to Al-Sadd, confirming that the team had given their all during the match and that the absence was only in "luck", despite the great work and high spirit shown by the players throughout the course of the match. Al-Maqbali said in media statements after the end of the confrontation, which was held yesterday at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha and ended with Al-Sadd winning 3-2 and being crowned champions, that Al-Ahli Youth is "one family on and off the field", pointing out that losing two titles in less than a month represents an alarm bell that must be dealt with seriously. "We gave everything we had, and no player made a mistake," he said. But Muhammad Al-Mansouri brought Al-Ahli Youth back into the result after a short while with a well-executed header. Firmino scored the winning goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time. "We will definitely look for the reason for what happened," he added.
