Doha: Former champions Al Sadd’s 1-0 victory over last year’s AFC Champions League runners-up Al Hilal at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Wednesday night was fully deserved, according to a jubilant Al Sadd coach Lhoussaine Ammouta. Al Sadd icon Khalfan Ibrahim had scored the game’s only goal on the half hour mark minute with a powerful finish after being played through by striker Hasan Al Haydos. And even though the Saudi giants dominated the majority of the second half as they sought to restore parity, their Qatari hosts held firm to take the victory and jump to the top of Group C. “I’m extremely happy with this win as we deserved to get this result and the players were determined to get a good victory. I want to thank the players for the good performance that they have shown in the match and their determination to win,” said Al Sadd coach Ammouta. “The result is important for us and we are now going in the right direction. The road is still long but winning against the runners-up of last year will give us a big boost to continue our good performances in the competition.”