Al Shahaniya’s Abdulla Khalid (right) celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal against Al Sailiyah in their Qatar Stars League match at Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium yesterday. Later, Al Khor beat Al Ahli 3-1 at the same venue.
DOHA: Qatar Stars League (QSL) newcomers Al Shahaniya yesterday stunned Al Sailiyah 2-1 in a round-five clash.
Goals by Mohamed Tiaiba (65) and Abdulla Khalid (70) sealed the deal for Al Sailiyah at Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium.
Al Sailiyah’s Mohmad Mudather reduced the deficit with a goal in injury time (90 + 3).
It was Al Shahaniya’s second win of the season.
After a cagey start to the tense clash, Al Shahaniya’s eventual goal hero Khalid produced a moment of excitement for his team inside the Al Sailiyah box.
Lurking inside the box, Khalid tapped a lob ball in front of him and quickly swiveled before letting go a ferocious shot towards Al Sailiyah goalmouth.
The ball beat Al Sailiyah goalkeeper Gregory Gomis but narrowly missed the crossbar in the 22nd minute.
Seconds later Al Shahaniya’s Tiaiba fired a long-range shot but his ball was deflected by a diving Gomis, Al Sailiyah’s last line of defence.
A minute later, Al Shahaniya’s Maaz Yousif Adam produced a similar effort and once again Gomis thwarted the dangerous move.
Four minutes later, Al Sailiyah’s Mirgani Alzain Babiker unleashed a long-range missile from 40 yards out but his shot was superbly tipped over the bar by Al Sailiyah goalkeeper Khalifa Nasser Al Dosari for a corner kick.
In a moment of madness, Al Sailiyah’s Mohamed Bader trampled on Raoul Cedric Loe’s right foot resulting in a stoppage in play as the player received medical attention in the 32nd minute.
At the one-hour mark, Al Shahaniya’s Gourmi Khaled was benched as Eduardo Luciano Santos ran in as replacement.
Seconds later, Al Sailiyah’s Mohmad Mdether Rajeb brought down Nabeel Mohammad Anwar with a rough tackle and got booked by the referee. Al Shahniya, playing all-red, broke the deadlock in the 65th minute when Tiaiba easily converted a spot kick.
Tiaiba lofted the ball into the top right side of the net as Al Shahaniya fans celebrated a rare burst of pure ecstasy. Five minutes later, a solo effort by Khalid saw Al Shahaniya go 2-0 up. Khalid sprinted from the half-line before receiving a ball some 60 yards from the goalline. Khalid - despite being shadowed by Cedric - charged ahead before producing a deft touch into the goal with Al Sailiyah goalkeeper falling to the floor anticipating a shot to his right.
Just seconds before the end, Mudather fired a bullet from the edge of the Al Shahaniya box for his side’s consolation goal.
