Doha: Lekhwiya SC edged Al Sadd 4-2 in Round 10 of the Qatar Stars League (QSL) to bounce back to winning ways, while Al Khor, Al Kharaitiyat and Al Arabi all picked up full points.
Yesterday at Al Sadd Stadium, defending champions who have been a shadow of their former selves this season, languishing seventh in the table before this match came out with flying colours at the end of the 90 minute dual.
The match itself was an open affair, with six goals scored in total, defending was an afterthought as both teams were keen to attack right from the off. The decisive goal which saw Lekhwiya break Sadd’s spirits came courtesy of Chico late in the second half.
The Wolves were having the lion’s share of the possession and an in-swinging speculative cross by Nadir Belhadj went through Lekhwiya’s defence and bounced into the goal for the games opener in the 30th minute.
Mohammed Muntari equalised for Lekhwiya in the 41st minute.
Ten minutes into the second half Youssef Msakni struck a low driver form 15 yards out to put Lekhwiya into the lead for the first time in the match, 2-1.
Belhadj struck two minutes later to equalise for Al Sadd.
The match was now finely poised as the two teams went into the last thirty minutes of the game until Jose Manuel Moreno gave Lekhwiya the lead in the 83rd minute while Taehee Nam put the issue beyond doubt with an injury time.
At Al Khor Stadium, Amar Osim’s men put an end to their two-match losing streak with two goals in either half to once again move away from the relegation zone.
The match was well controlled by Kharaitiyat and their lead never really looked in doubt as Gharafa failed to create many clear cut chances during the 90 minutes.
A ball down the right flank saw Yahia Kebe beat the off side trap and zero in on goal, the Burkinabé striker took the ball right to the byline before sending in a well-timed cross for Mohammed Abdulraab Alyazidi who tapped in the Thunder’s first of the night from close range (27’). Gharafa had the majority of possession but despite this, they simply couldn’t break down a well organised Thunders defence today.
Both teams went into the tunnel but Gharafa knew that they would have to up the tempo if they were to stretch their opponents in the second half.
In the second half Kharaitiyat kept Gharafa largely at bay and as the two teams entered the final 10 minutes.
It was looking increasing unlikely to be Gharafa’s day. Then in the 86th minute and against the run of play, a hopeful ball was booted towards Hassan Abdel Fattah, the Jodanian controlled well but was quickly closed down. Fattah though, managed to shoot from the tightest of angles and Gharafa keeper Qasem Burham had shocker as he failed to control a weak shot which deflected off his foot and into his own goal.
Meanwhile, Al Arabi defeated Al Ahli by a solitary goal in a tight and scrappy affair at home; in the end it took a penalty to break the deadlock with Paulinho tucking it away in the 28th minute.
Ghanian Benson fouled Yousef Ahmed inside the box and a penalty was awarded. Al Ahli was now reduced to ten men and played 60 minutes with a distinct disadvantage. Paulinho stepped up and converted the penalty to give Arabi the lead (28’). After conceding Ahli were constantly chasing the game and did well to not concede further.
At Al Arabi Stadium, Al Khor defeated Mesaimeer 2-1 to register the first win of the season. Julio Cesar and Madison were the goal scorers for Khor whilst Mohanad Adnan got the consolation strike for Mesaimeer.
The Peninsula
