Greetings and a very warm welcome to everyone joining our live coverage of the AFC Champions League quarter-final clash. Stay tuned as we bring you play-by-play updates from the Kawasaki Frontale vs Al Sadd match.
Kawasaki Frontale vs Al Sadd, AFC Champions League Highlights: Catch the play-by-play updates from the quarter-final football tie between Kawasaki Frontale and Al Sadd at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, as it happened
Greetings and a very warm welcome to everyone joining our live coverage of the AFC Champions League quarter-final clash. Stay tuned as we bring you play-by-play updates from the Kawasaki Frontale vs Al Sadd match.
Here's how the two teams line up ahead of kick-off in Jeddah:
The AFC Champions League quarter-final will commence at 10pm India time. The face-off between Kawasaki Frontale and Al Sadd will be live streamed on the FanCode app and website in India. It will not be telecast on any TV channel in the country.
Frontale have only conceded five goals, keeping clean sheets in six matches this season, which is their highest tally in a single edition of the competition. They are also the Japanese team with the most clean sheets in AFC Champions League history (33 matches). On the other hand, Al Sadd have scored in 12 consecutive matches in the tournament, which is their joint-longest streak.
The match gets underway in Jeddah. Kawasaki Frontale attacking from left to right, and Al Sadd from right to left in the first half. This could well be a battle between Frontale's defence and Al Sadd's forward line.
Well, well well. It is Kawasaki who make the first move in this clash, and in the fourth minute at that. Number 9 Erison latches on to Ienaga's assist from the right flank to drive it in from his right foot and beat the Sadd goalie all ends up. The Qatari side is rattled and must find a response.
What a thundering start to this game. Al Sadd repond within five minutes, as Otavio controls Afif's ball and shoots it towards the Frontale goal, where custodian Yamaguchi makes a mess of it to let it burst through his hands. It's all level after 10 minutes.
Marcinho puts Kawasaki Frontale back in front. The midfielder makes best use of Yamamoto's assist to beat Al Sadd goalie Barsham and score in the 21st minute. Three goals in the game already, and a very nice tempo to proceedings.
The Japanese club has its nose in front at the end of the first half, though only by a slender one-goal margin. After three goals in the first 21 minutes, goal-scoring opportunities dried up a bit. Let's see what the second half has to offer.
The first 10 minutes of the second half have gone goalless. Otavio makes a superb long-range effort from his left foot but the shot sails over the bar. Kawasaki now attacking from left to right and Al Sadd from right to left.
This match is sure going down to the wire. Al Sadd have drawn level again, this time via Claudinho. Giovani provided the assist and the Brazilian midfielder made no mistake to bring the scoreline to 2-2. There will be five minutes of extra time for either side to find a winner, else we go to extra time.
Five minutes of injury time aren't enough to find a winner, and full time ends at 2-2. We are now headed into 30 minutes of extra time for a definitive result, failing which the match will go into penalties.
The first 15-minute period of extra time has begun. The two teams are being extra careful not to concede, for there could be no way back from there on. Frontale defending resolutely, as they have all through the tournament. Al Sadd trying to find an opening, nevertheless.
The Kawasaki skipper stands up to be counted when his side needed him the most. Yasuto Wakisaka comes up with an ice-cool finish at the goal mouth to send Frontale ahead once again in the 98th minute. It was a defensive error from Al Sadd that allowed the Japanese club to get a foot in, and Yamada pounced on it to assist his captain, who made no mistake.
We are more than seven minutes into the second half of extra time, which means Al Sadd have about eight minutes to try and find another equaliser, their third of the night. One suspects that they are running out of ideas at this stage against the gritty Japanese club, but you never know in football.
Extra time comes to an end, and the 98th-minute winner by Frontale captain Yasuto Wakisaka proves decisive. The Japanese club marches into its first-ever AFC Champions League semi-final, and Al Sadd are denied a fourth appearance there.