On video: a historic start for Al-Qadsiah in the AFC Champions League Elite | Goal.com
Saudi side Al-Qadsiah edged their guests Al-Wasl of the UAE 2-1 on Monday evening at the "Prince Mohammed bin Fahd" Stadium, in the first round of the league phase in the AFC Champions League Elite.
This one mattered. Al-Qadsiah were making their first appearance in the AFC Champions League Elite, and they launched their continental adventure with a precious win over Al-Wasl, joining the list of Saudi clubs to have won on their tournament debut.
A crowd of 7,013 packed into the stands of the "Prince Mohammed bin Fahd" Stadium, according to the Saudi newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat", and they watched the hosts see off their opponents to bag the three points.
Brendan Rodgers sent out Al-Qadsiah with a lineup that included: "Castells, Jihad, Nacho, Gaston, Al-Shamat, Feigl, Turki, Reinders, Musab, Al-Qahtani, and Julian Quinones".
Roy Vitoria's Al-Wasl started with: "Horkas, Abdulrahman Amer, Silva, Bouftini, Malheiro, Bubola, Sidibe, Palacios, Jimenez, Serginio, and Mehdi Taremi".
Al-Qadsiah had to wait until the 57th minute to break the deadlock. Mexican striker Julian Quinones wrote his name into the club's continental history, scoring the team's first goal in its AFC Champions League Elite participation.
Christopher Bonsu Baah whipped a precise cross into the penalty area, Quinones rose to meet it, and his powerful header beat goalkeeper Dinko Horkas to hand Al-Qadsiah the lead.
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No respite followed. Al-Qadsiah doubled their advantage just four minutes later, in the 61st minute, when Italian striker Mateo Retegui grabbed the second.
Retegui collected a pass from teammate Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat before tucking the ball into Al-Wasl's net, giving his team a comfortable cushion and deepening the UAE side's misery over the closing stages.
Al-Wasl kept pushing in the dying minutes and pulled one back in the sixth minute of added time through Leandro Spadacio.
Pedro Malheiro slipped a fine pass to Spadacio, who steered it into Al-Qadsiah's net to hand his side late hope of getting back into it.
The late goal came to nothing. Al-Qadsiah held on and closed out the match, coming away with a historic win on their first outing in the continental tournament.
Every team plays eight matches during the league phase in the AFC Champions League Elite, with the best eight clubs from each region qualifying for the round of 16.
Saudi Arabia hosts the tournament's final rounds, where the participating clubs will look to keep their continental journey alive and go as far as they can in this edition.
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