Qatar derby: Al Rayyan to face Al Duhail in ACL round 16 clash

agency Riyadh The cast for the AFC Champions League™ 2022 (West) - Round of 16 was finalised following the conclusion of the Group Stage on Wednesday. Lead...

agencyRiyadhThe cast for the AFC Champions League™ 2022 (West) - Round of 16 was finalised following the conclusion of the Group Stage on Wednesday.Leading the eight West teams were defending champions Al Hilal SFC, who are aiming to win the title for the third time in four years.The last 16 pairings will see Al Hilal playing Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, Al Shabab taking on Nasaf, Al Duhail meeting Al Rayyan and Al Faisaly squaring off with Foolad. The West Zone knockout stage is scheduled for February 3-10 with the final to be played over two legs on February 19 and 26, 2023.Al Hilal topped Group A with 13 points as Ramon Diaz’s side were once again in impressive form in the competition they have enjoyed much success in recent times. Also through were fellow Saudi Arabia side Al Shabab FC, who were equally impressive in Group B as they racked up 16 points, scoring 18 goals and conceding just one.Foolad Khouzestan topped Group C after a tough campaign, with the Islamic Republic of Iran side collecting 12 points from three wins and three draws.Saudi Arabia’s Al Faisaly advanced as the Group E winners while through as the best three runners-up were Qatar’s Al Rayyan from Group A, Shabab Al Ahli Dubai from Group C and Uzbekistan’s FC Nasaf from Group E. Nasaf and Al Rayyan qualified for the Round of 16 for the first time. Meanwhile, Al Rayyan celebrated their AFC Champions League™ 2022 Round of 16 qualification by defeating Al Hilal SFC 2-0 in Group A on Wednesday.Al Rayyan, whose maiden appearance in the knockout stage had been confirmed before a ball was kicked at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, took the lead through an own goal by Jang Hyun-soo before Yohan Boli doubled their advantage in the closing stages of the first half.Al Rayyan came into the tie knowing that victory by more than three goals against the defending champions would earn them top spot in the group and the Qatari side put early pressure on their opponents.Ramon Diaz’s side were almost caught napping in the fourth minute when goalkeeper Abdullah Al Muaiouf failed to clear a back pass by Yasser Al Shahrani, resulting in Tameem Mansour forcing the shotstopper into conceding a corner.That proved to be the turning point as Al Rayyan took the lead a minute later when Al Hilal defender Jang turned in Ahmed Yasser’s header off a corner into his own net.Al Rayyan, however, had to cut short their celebrations as Al Hilal came back fighting with Odion Ighalo missing his shot from inside the box in the ninth minute, while Gustavo Cuéllar came close with his effort from Salman Al Faraj’s layoff.While Al Hilal continued to fire blanks despite piling on the pressure, Al Rayyan almost took advantage through a counter-attack in the 26th minute when Steven N’zonzi found space after Boli’s set up, but fired his low drive into the arms of Al Muaiouf.Ighalo then came close to breaking Al Rayyan’s resistance five minutes later when he found space above the penalty area before laying off for Salem Al Dawsari, who fired his effort above the bar.As the half-time whistle approached, Al Rayyan captain Yacine Brahimi burst into the area before setting up Boli, who whipped in his side’s second goal of the evening in injury time.Boli almost got his second goal moments later when Ali Malolah sent a wonderful cross into the box but the Cote d’Ivoire player’s header was denied by the bar in the closing minutes of the half.Al Rayyan goalkeeper Fahad Younis was kept busy in the second half, saving Abdullah Al Hamdan’s close-range effort in the 71st minute after Salem Al Dawsari’s fine run into the area.Younis then pulled off a remarkable save three minutes later, denying Al Dawsari’s spot-kick after Moussa Marega was brought down, as Al Rayyan sealed a famous win. Al Rayyan’s Cordova shares secret to beating Al Hilal, Diaz laments lack of focusNicolas Cordova praised Al Rayyan’s tenacity following their 2-0 win over defending champions Al Hilal SFC in Group A of the AFC Champions League™ 2022 on Wednesday.“We were not at all expecting an easy match against Al Hilal,” said Cordova. “They are a good team that play with plenty of possession in games and we were relying on our counter-attacks, which we succeeded in doing. We finished second and I’m happy with the result.”Al Rayyan needed to score more than three goals against the defending champions to finish top of the group but despite coming up short, Cordova underlined the team’s mentality and what they have achieved.“When I started with Al Rayyan it was very hard but we managed to get through the technical aspect of our game. My players and I have been working very well together this season and we beat Al Hilal today. We created a good harmonisation between the players during our training camp in Doha.”