Penalty kicks save Al-Ahly youth from the Al-Bataeh ambush

Shabab Al-Ahly made its way to the quarter-finals of the President’s Cup with great difficulty, after defeating the “struggling” Al-Bataeh on penalties, 4-2, following a goalless draw in regular and extra time, in the match that brought together the two teams today, Saturday, in the round of 16 at Khalid bin Mohammed Stadium in Sharjah.

The match was full of excitement and competition, as caution prevailed in the performance of the two teams during most of its periods, despite the offensive advantage of Shabab Al-Ahly, which created a number of dangerous chances without succeeding in translating them into goals, so the first half ended with a negative result.

In the second half, the “Dubai Knights” imposed complete control over the course of the game, and their attempts continued against Al-Bataeh’s goal, but the brilliance of substitute goalkeeper Abdul Rahman Al-Amri prevented his goal from conceding, after he brilliantly blocked a dangerous solo attempt from Matthews Lima, in one of the most prominent shots of the match.

The confrontation witnessed tense moments when it was stopped for a few minutes due to protests from the Al-Bataeh bench, which led to friction between the players of the two teams, as a result of which referee Nawaf Al-Zeyoudi was forced to expel two members of the Al-Bataeh technical staff and warn the substitute goalkeeper, Ibrahim Issa.

In the additional two halves, Shabab Al-Ahly continued their search for the decisive goal, while Al-Bataeh striker Alvaro almost tipped the scales, when he passed the goalkeeper and put the ball over the crossbar while the goal was completely empty, so that the net remained impassable until the final whistle, before the penalty shootout smiled in favor of Shabab Al-Ahly.