Al Arabi's Pablo Sarabia (centre) celebrates after scoring a goal.
Doha, Qatar: Marc Saez emerged as the star scoring a brace and providing an assist as Muaither staged a dramatic comeback from two goals down to edge Al Markhiya 3-2 and book a place in the QSL Cup semi-finals at Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium yesterday.
In the other quarter-final, Pablo Sarabia came off the bench to score a late brace in Al Arabi’s 3-1 comeback victory over Al Waab.
Both teams will face off in the second semi-final on Sunday, while Al Rayyan and Umm Salal meet in the first semi-final on Saturday.
Al Markhiya looked firmly in control early on as Sahil Bashir struck in the 22nd minute, punishing Muaither’s defensive lapse. Rodrigo Tabata was the architect, setting up Bashir to fire into the far corner from the left side of the box.
Muaither players celebrate a goal against Al Markhiya
Muaither thought they had responded almost immediately when captain Albert Luque found the net four minutes later, but their celebrations were cut short as VAR ruled the goal out for a foul in the build-up.
Al Markhiya were also denied a second before the break, with captain Naby Sarr’s header from a corner disallowed following a foul by Eissa Abdelbaset, leaving them with a slender lead at half-time.
That advantage doubled in the 55th minute when Lucas Gabriel finished off another fine assist from Tabata, putting Al Markhiya seemingly in cruise control.
But Muaither refused to fold as Saez ignited a stunning comeback, pulling one back in the 74th minute after capitalising on a defensive error. Minutes later, he struck again, squeezing in an equaliser from a tight angle to swing the momentum dramatically. With the game hanging in the balance, Saez turned provider in stoppage time, delivering a decisive pass to Luque, who made no mistake in the third minute of added time.
Sarabia stars for Al Arabi
Later at Al Khor Stadium, Ousseynou Gueye put Al Waab ahead in the 13th minute, finishing clinically from a fine cross by Mohammad Mothnani.
Al Arabi equalised in the 28th minute thanks to an own goal, as Ahmed Abdelhay Eissa inadvertently turned the ball into his own net while attempting to clear a free-kick.
Mothnani’s handball inside the box, confirmed after a lengthy VAR review, handed Al Arabi the lead, with Pablo Sarabia coolly converting from the spot with a minute remaining. Sarabia completed the 3-1 victory deep into stoppage time after goalkeeper Francesco Plaia had ventured forward for a corner.
Rodriguez Sanchez fired a long-range shot that struck the right post, and Sarabia was on hand to tap in the rebound with ease.
