Doha: Syria's Al Wahda were left to rue their reluctance to take more risk after they fell to a late Amjed Radhi header that gave reigning champions Air Force Club of Iraq a 1-0 win and a ticket to the AFC Cup final for the second year running.
The Syrian side came into the second leg of the West Asia zonal final with a 2-1 advantage but coach Raafat Muhammad's disciplined defensive approach came just short against Air Force Club's attacking prowess.
Al Wahda's defensive approach almost pays off
As they did in the first leg, Al Wahda were happy to sit back and let Air Force Club enjoy more of the ball.
The Iraqis dominated possession and at the end of the game, had 65.7 percent of the possession with a passing accuracy of 78.7 percent.
The Syrian side made a few attacking inroads in the first half, notably winning a penalty early on, but they gradually retreated to a a more passive style in the second half.
Before conceding the decisive goal in injury time, Al Wahda looked capable of holding on to the clean sheet and going through to the final.
Centre-back partners Ali Diab and Hadi Al Masri were kept busy but remained resilient.
The duo rarely ventured out of position and did not dive into tackles that could have left them off balance.
However, the resistance was broken by an uncharacteristic loss of focus as they failed to mark the oncoming Radhi, who was allowed to rise and head in the winner with ease.
Small details change the game
Coach Rafaat Muhammad will have certainly been left wondering whether his side could have forced a different result had they not been overtly conservative in the second half.
Striker Osama Omari and winger Mohammed Hamadkou were active and looked threatening on the left flank early on and could have given Air Force Club's defence more to do had they kept going.
Instead, their influence faded in the second half (see heatmap below), which coincided with Air Force piling more pressure on Al Wahda.
Hamadkou's high pressing earned him a penalty-kick early in the game after being fouled in the box by Zahir Al Medani.
However, Mohammed Al Ghabbash's subsequent effort was brilliantly saved by Fahad Talib.
A goal at that stage of the match would have given Al Wahda more breathing space by cancelling out Air Force Club's away goal advantage. The penalty save thus proved to be a crucial factor in deciding the game.
Radhi proves his worth
For all their domination, Air Force Club were left frustrated for most parts of the match due to their inability to score.
Last year's tournament top scorer and MVP Hammadi Ahmed struggled to make a real impact and only managed to take a single shot on target all game.
Air Force Club coach Hussam Al Sayed had decided to start the game with Radhi on the bench and was forced to bring him on in the 55th minute to add impetus to the team's attack as they chased the game.
That's exactly what the 28-year old managed to do, Radhi outshone his compatriot (see above) and went on to put his mark on the match in the most dramatic fashion, taking his team to the final.
Photo: Lagardère Sports
Source: the-afc.com