The Emirati club win followed up inaugural edition’s Super Shield win, clinching the Challenge Shield against Al Rayyan.
Al Rayyan suffered their first loss under new manager Artur Jorge on Thursday as UAE’s Shabab Al Ahli clinched the Qatar-UAE Challenge Shield to lift their second consecutive title in the bilateral Super Cup.
Brazilian-Emirati midfielder Guilherme Bala bagged a goal and two assists as Yuri Cesar and Sardar Azmoun found the net in either halves to help the visitors shrug off an own goal en route to a 3-1 win at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
Shabab Al Ahli had defeated Qatar’s Al Duhail 2-1 in the inaugural Qatar-UAE Super Cup last year to win the Super Shield in Dubai.
Bala’s goal came late in the injury time as Al Rayyan’s push to get an equaliser backfired, leaving the goalkeeper alone to deal with three surging forwards.
The hosts had come into the match with a convincing 6-2 win over Umm Salal in the Ooredoo Stars League in their first match with Jorge at the helm.
That newfound confidence seemed to falter early on, however, as the 2024 UAE Super Cup winners frequently found spaces behind the home team’s defence to repeatedly end up in the final third.
Azmoun and Bala made things tick for Shabab Al Ahli, frequently setting off on quick breaks that at the very least, kept Jorge’s rearguard in discomfort in front of more than 10,000 spectators — hardly 100 of which backed the travelling side.
Bala was the one to register first shot on target in the ninth minute, which required a strong hand from Al Rayyan’s goalkeeper Pau Victor to be kept out.
It was then Azmoun’s turn, who met Bala’s through ball in the 22nd minute, yet failed to keep his effort to chip Victor on target at the far post.
Al Rayyan’s only promising chance by then was a low freekick from Achraf Bencharki, which went wide at the far post in the second minute.
The yielding moment finally came in the 28th minute for the visitors as Azmoun and Bala combined to open the Al Rayyan defence. The latter’s cutback was converted by Cesar after making a well-timed run into the box to put Shabab Al Ahli one up in the scoreboard.
Bala was in the action again after less than a minute, yet had his shot was saved after Al Rayyan’s center-back Andre Amaro was dispossessed by Munas Dabbur while trying to play out from the back.
Brief moment of scare for the eventual victors came in the 41st minute as center-back Renan’s effort to clear Roger Guedes’ cross ended up in the back of the net, handing Al Rayyan an opening with the equaliser just before the break.
Paulo Sousa’s side picked up from where they left as Iranian playmaker Azmoun was set-up by Bala after a surging run from the halfway line, restoring the one-goal lead just seven minutes into the first half.
Just two minutes earlier, Al Rayyan’s midfielder Julien De Sart had failed to keep a volley on target, which could have helped the hosts overturn the initial shock.
Al Rayyan’s night nearly went from bad to worse in the 63rd minute as the referee was called up to the monitor to inspect captain Abdulaziz Hatem’s sliding tackle for a potential red card. Despite a lengthy inspection, the Qatari midfielder was handed a yellow card and the Lions were spared — briefly.
“Lion’s Den” read a tifo unfurled by Al Rayyan fans before the kick-off and it seemed like one only for a brief period in the second half, yet to no avail.
Bencharki, who had scored two over the weekend, set up Garcia for a header inside the box in the 72nd minute, which required an agile save from 21-year-old keeper Hamad Al-Meqebaali to be kept out.
Perhaps that was the most promising chance that came out of Al Rayyan’s late surge to get an equaliser. Tamim Mansour was through on goal in the second minute of added time but Al-Meqebaali was able to create impatience for the Qatari striker, who ultimately hit it off target.
The host’s surge came to haunt them back just five minutes after as Bala capped off a glittering performance, finishing a counter that he started. Eid Khamis Eid chose to pass to the 23-year-old after three forwards from the Emirati side had only Victor between them and the goal.
At the end of it, Al Rayyan had to pull off two goal-line saves to avoid a thumping at home, which echoed their season so far: when will they be able to build on and follow up on a rare promising performance?
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