Al Duhail's Boubakary Soumare (left) controls the ball.
Doha, Qatar: Boubakary Soumare fired a late equaliser as Al Duhail secured a 1-1 draw against Al Shahania in the Qatar Stars League at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium yesterday.
Al Duhail were trailing after Jawad El Jamili put Al Shahania ahead in the second half, but Soumare’s strike in the sixth minute of stoppage time rescued a point for the former champions.
Al Duhail moved to six points, level with Al Arabi, who also drew 0-0 with Qatar SC yesterday.
Leaders Al Sadd are two points clear of Al Rayyan after four straight wins, with Al Shamal third on eight points.
After a slow start, Al Shahania were first to threaten, with Salah Zakaria making a fine save to deny Francesco Antonucci’s dangerous effort from outside the box.
Shehab Ellethy produced an equally impressive save at the other end, stopping Soumare’s effort as the teams went into half-time level.
El Jamili broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute. Zakaria had earlier denied Antonucci with another long-range effort, but a poor clearance by Ibrahima Bamba allowed El Jamili to pounce and slot a diagonal shot into the far corner.
Tahsin Mohammed’s effort from outside the box was parried away as Al Duhail pushed for an equaliser.
They finally got it in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Shehab Mamdouh Ellethy saved Jean-Charles Castelletto’s header from a corner, but Soumare reacted quickly to the rebound and headed the ball into the net to rescue a draw.
Al Shahania, however, climbed to seventh place with four points.
At Al Thumama Stadium, Al Arabi and Qatar SC played out a draw in a scrappy clash that produced 36 fouls and two late red cards.
Al Arabi had the better chances, with Jordan Veretout coming closest in the fourth minute when his shot, following a cross from Rodrigo, struck the top corner of the right post.
Qatar SC threatened late in the match but Al Arabi goalkeeper Jasem Al Hail denied Faiz Selmani in the 85th minute, making a save in the bottom left corner.
Qatar SC were reduced to nine men in the closing stages. Abdulrasheed Umaru was sent off in the 89th minute after elbowing Rodrigo during an argument near the goal line, before Ali Saoudi received a second yellow card in stoppage time for arguing with the referee.
Qatar SC remained 11th with two points.
“It was a tough match. Al Arabi are a strong team. We didn’t avail ourselves of our chances, but hopefully the next match will be better,” said Qatar SC’s Mohammad Amin.
Al Arabi’s Lotfi Madjer said: “Honestly, I feel we deserved the win today. We did our part and executed the coach’s instructions. But that’s football. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes you draw.”
