Al-Ahly Sports Club will play off for 5/6 against Esporte Clube Taubate and Club Africain will fight for seventh spot against Al-Sadd after the Egyptian and Brazilian teams recorded wins in the first 2015 IHF Super Globe placement round games.
Placement Matches
Club Africain vs Al-Ahly Sports Club 17:20 (9:9)
Two goals from line player Makrem Slama and a quick jump shot by Amine Bannour in the opening minutes gave Club Africain an early lead (3:0, five minutes), but Al-Ahly’s Mohamed Amer put the Egyptian side’s first on the board soon after. Amer equalised for the first time in the ninth before Karim Osman took them one in front with a penalty goal as Al-Ahly recorded a 0:5 run and kept their opponent scoreless for almost 10 minutes (4:5, 24th minute).
Just after midway through the half Eslam Hassan levelled the score to put Club Africain back in the game (5:5, 17th minute). With four minutes left in the period the score was locked at 8:8. Club Africain had the chance to add a crucial goal on a counter attack as the half came to a close, but goalkeeper Mohamed Aly saved the shot and the teams remained equal at the break.
Tension was high at the beginning of the second half, with no goals until Mamdouh Abouebaid scored an outside shot in the 34th minute (9:10). The one-for-one game continued, with every goal answered. Bannour scored a right wing shot followed by a penalty goal to take Club Africain two ahead with just over ten minutes remaining (17:15), but Al-Ahly soon came back yet again to level with a left wing goal from Omar Elwakil (17:17, 22nd minute).
A two-minute suspension for Al-Ahly’s Mohamed Abouelata was a chance for Club Africain, but they soon lost a player themselves when Khaled Haj Youssef was sent off. Abouelata returned in style, scoring a breakthrough that sent the Egyptian team two in front as the final five minutes began (17:19). As Club Africain struggled to find the goal Mostafa Bechir added a fast break goal that meant trouble for the Tunisian side (17:20, 58th).
Abouelata was suspended again but Club Africain failed to capitalise on the numerical advantage. It was clear to whom the victory would belong as the game entered the last minute and Al-Ahly were still ahead by three.
Al-Sadd vs Esporte Clube Taubate 24:32 (11:15)
Esporte Clube Taubate raced ahead to score three goals before Al-Sadd’s Ahmed Abdelhak put their first in the goal. The support of the home crowd helped Al-Sadd slowly reduce the early damage, and by the 10-minute mark it was a much more level game than the opening minutes showed (4:5).
Taubate played an active defensive system that caused Al-Sadd trouble, keeping the Qatari team from adding to their tally for six minutes until coach Mongi Bennani was forced to call a time-out (4:9, 16th minute). Those minutes proved crucial, and Taubate were able to increase their advantage as the half progressed, creating a six-goal gap by the 25th minute. By the break Al-Sadd had reduced the difference, but their four-goal deficit was still a bad omen for the Asian team.
Al-Sadd came out stronger in the second period, scoring the first goal and initially challenging their Brazilian opponent more than they had in the first half. But Taubate’s active defence still proved a challenge, as did their counter attacks, and at the 45-minute mark they were six goals up (18:24).
When Andre Soares scored a fast break goal in the 48th minute to move the Brazilian team ahead to a seven-goal advantage, then Vinicius Teixera added another only seconds later, the game looked all but over for the host team (18:26). Al-Sadd could do nothing to fight back, and Taubate comfortably finished the game to proceed to the 5/6 placement match, where they will meet Al-Ahly.