Er-Rayyan claimed a 4:3 victory over Al-Faisaly in the opening Group Stage match of the AFC Cup at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday evening. The hosts took control early and held on despite a spirited response from their visitors, who had started the campaign with three wins in their last five outings.
D. Garcia opened the scoring in the sixth minute, and Roger Guedes doubled the lead just before half-time. Al-Faisaly pushed back, with A. Alaaeldin pulling one back in the 41st minute, and S. Simpore equalised on the stroke of half-time. That 2:2 scoreline held until the second half when H. Ahmed restored Er-Rayyan's advantage after 73 minutes.
M. Haddad thought he had rescued Al-Faisaly in the 78th minute, but it would take more from the visitors. A. Ersan sealed the win eight minutes later, and the result left Er-Rayyan top of the group with three points from one game. Al-Faisaly sit fourth with none.
Er-Rayyan dominated possession at 0.64 and registered 114 attacks compared to 56 for the visitors. They took 14 shots on target, six finding the net, though their accuracy stood at 0.38. Al-Faisaly were more clinical with 0.70 accuracy, converting seven shots on target into three goals. The hosts made 671 passes to the visitors' 370, but those chances went begging for the away side.
Both managers shuffled their cards at the break, with Er-Rayyan bringing on Gregore, F. Haikal and M. Al Attar. Al-Faisaly responded with D. Diakite and A. Alaaeldin, though the latter had already scored. The game opened up further in the second half, and by then the tactical adjustments were clear — Er-Rayyan pushed forward, Al-Faisaly looked to counter.
A. Badawi picked up a yellow card for Er-Rayyan in the 59th minute, and Otavio was booked for the visitors with 14 minutes remaining. Three substitutions came together for Al-Faisaly in the 79th minute, including M. Haddad himself, but there was no value left at that number. Er-Rayyan kept their heads and closed out the match.
