Al-Faisaly stumbles against Al-Taawoun in the "AFC Champions League Two"

With this result, Al-Taawoun raised their tally to 7 points at the top of the group, while Al-Faisaly remained at 3 points. Qatar's Al-Rayyan sits in second place with 6 points, while Oman's Al-Nahda remains at the bottom with one point, as the competition for the two qualifying spots for the Round of 16 continues.

The result gave Al-Taawoun a strong boost at the top of the group, while Al-Faisaly finds itself in need of a comeback in the upcoming rounds. The two teams will meet again in the fourth round on November 4 in Saudi Arabia, before Al-Faisaly hosts Qatar's Al-Rayyan on November 25, and concludes its group stage campaign by facing Oman's Al-Nahda on December 9, in a match that requires them to collect points to enhance their qualification chances.

Names on the field

Al-Faisaly lineup: Abdullah Al-Fakhouri, Anas Badawi, Ihsan Haddad, Sidy Sarr, Hossam Abu Al-Dahab, Ghaith Al-Madadha (Waseem Al-Riyalat), John Owo (Malek Allan), Noureddine Al-Rawabdeh (Ahmed Abdel-Rabbo), Ahmed Al-Ersan, Claudio Maradona (Rizq Bani Hani), and Anas Al-Awadat (Majdi Al-Attar).

Al-Taawoun lineup: Santos, Zinedine Belaid, Ibrahim Al-Mahanshi, Nasser Al-Hilali, Nedim Bajrami, Fares Al-Ghamdi, Ashraf El Mahdioui, Rakan Al-Tulayhi (Parfait), Mohammed Al-Saadi, Younes Al-Bahrawi, and Maren Petkov.

Proceedings and tactics

Al-Faisaly started the match with strength and boldness, amidst Al-Taawoun's attention and seriousness. The hosts' intentions to search for an early goal were clear, driven by great fan support that did not stop cheering and motivating. In contrast, Al-Taawoun handled Al-Faisaly's momentum and speed with balance, succeeding in containing their attempts while threatening the hosts' goal from time to time.

Al-Faisaly held the advantage during periods of the first half, which saw several attempts to score. It began with a header from Maradona that went past the post, before Al-Awadat received a precise ball from Maradona, but he shot it into the arms of the goalkeeper who cleared the danger. As the minutes passed, play concentrated in the midfield, and the advantage shifted between the two teams, with the first half ending in a goalless draw.

A goal that confuses calculations

Al-Taawoun entered the second half differently, and substitute Parfait was on time, scoring the opening goal in the 52nd minute with a textbook shot that settled in the left corner of Al-Fakhouri's goal.

Al-Faisaly sensed the danger of the situation, so they intensified their attacking forays. Al-Ersan tried to penetrate from the left side before taking a set-piece that turned into a corner, which the team followed with another attempt that ended with Sidy Sarr, who missed a strange chance. Maradona returned to shoot from the right side of the penalty area, but his ball rebounded off the crossbar and went out, wasting a precious opportunity to equalize.

Al-Faisaly's head coach, Tarek Mostafa, made his substitutions in search of changing the result, but Al-Taawoun remained organized under the leadership of their coach, dealing intelligently with the details of the match and maintaining their lead until the 77th minute, which brought a new shock to the hosts.

After Al-Rawabdeh stumbled in front of Al-Taawoun player Bajrami, the latter broke away with the ball before it reached Al-Ghamdi, who put it into the net, scoring the second goal and doubling the difficulty of Al-Faisaly's task.

Al-Faisaly tried to return in the remaining minutes through various attacking solutions, amidst haste and continuous fan pressure. However, Al-Taawoun managed the time and the result well, making their substitutions to reduce the hosts' pace, until Emirati referee Ahmed Darwish blew the final whistle, announcing Al-Taawoun's victory by two goals to nil.