Rami Suhail celebrates with a team-mate after scoring Al Arabi's opening goal.
Doha: Al Arabi excelled in the second half to claim a 2-0 QNB Stars League (QSL) victory over Al Markhiya and close gap on leaders Al Duhail yesterday.
After a goalless first half at Grand Hamad Stadium, substitute Rami Suhail broke the deadlock in the 67th minute before Al Arabi star Yousef Msakni netted a 90th minute penalty to seal victory for Younes Ali’s side.
The win took Al Arabi’s points tally to 31 from 14 matches, one point shy of Al Duhail, who have a game in hands. Al Duhail are currently busy with AFC Champions League, where they will play Saudi’s Al Shabab in the quarter-finals tomorrow.
Al Markhiya were impressive and made some good moves but they lacked execution with The Dream Team availing their second-half chances well.
Suhail opened the scoring with a fine strike off a tight angle after a ball from Abdulla Hassan, before Al Markhiya goalkeeper Loukay Sherif Ashour brought down Omar Al Somah to concede a penalty that Msakni converted comfortably.
At Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium, Qatar SC and Al Sailiya played out a 1-1 draw after an exciting battle.
Qatar SC’s Nasir Peer scored in the 45+5 minute and Sergio Carlos Strandberg equalised from a penalty kick in the 78th minute for Al Sailiya.
The match witnessed the debut of Qatar SC’s new recruit from Sweden Nabil Bahoui.
Following the draw, Qatar SC advanced to third place with 23 points, while Al Sailiya moved on to nine points.
Later at the same venue, Umm Salal held Al Wakrah to a goalless draw to earn a point. The match was dominated by Al Wakrah but the Blue Waves were not impressive in the final third as only two of their 16 attempts in the match were on target.
Al Wakrah, who remained third in the standings before the FIFA World Cup break, slipped to seventh with 19 points while bottom-placed Umm Salal, who are leveled with Al Sailiya on 9 points, raised hopes of avoiding relegation after the draw.
