Doha: A late equaliser by Abdulgadir Ilyas Adam helped Umm Salal snatch a victory away from Lekhwiya as the two sides finished with a goal apiece at the Qatar SC Stadium here yesterday.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd defeated Qatar SC 3-1 to displace Lekhwiya from the top of the QSL standings.
Lekhwiya largely looked in control during the game and in the 40th minute Jose Manuel Flores gave Michael Laudrup’s side the lead by heading in the first goal from a free-kick from just outside the Umm Salal penalty area.
Three minutes later a slightly bizarre incident unfolded on the other side of the pitch. Lekhwiya’s Ahmed Yasser Aziz tackled Abdulgadir Ilyas Adam inside his box and referee Abdulrahman I. Jassim immediately blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot.
Amid loud protests by the Lekhwiya players, the referee then seemingly consulted one of his assistants and changed his decision to the surprise of the Umm Salal team.
Lekhwiya continued to dominate possession in the second half but in the 87th minute, Umm Salal’s Tuncay Sanli fired in a powerful long-rage shot, which was spilled by goalkeeper Lecoumet Kloud Amin. A waiting Ilyas latched on to the loose ball and with lightning speed tapped in the equaliser.
Umm Salal managed to hold on for the last few minutes and thus managed to salvage a point from the game.
In yesterday’s other matches, Al Kharitiyat defeated Al Sailiya 2-0 while Al Sadd overcame Qatar SC, thanks to goals by Hasan Al Haydos, Nadir Belhadj and Khalfan Ibrahim. In-form striker Hamdi Harbaoui scored the lone goal for Qatar SC.
THE PENINSULA
