Doha: Al Ahli beat Al Sailiya 1-0 while eight-time champions Al Rayyan suffered their fifth defeat when they went down to Qatar SC as QNB stars League returned after the international break yesterday.
At Al Ahli Stadium yesterday, Patrick Eze scored the all-important goal (90+6) to hand Al Ahli their first victory in this season’s tournament.
Al Ahli moved on to nine points and Al Sailiya remained on five points following their seventh defeat.
Both teams went into the game in a desperate situation, being in the bottom half of the table.
Al Sailiya attacked more from the beginning. They had two goals disallowed, in the 12th and 25th minutes. First, it was Driss Fettouhi and then it was Valentin Adama, who were at the receiving end. In between the disallowed goals, Ramin Rezaein had a good opportunity in the 16th minute with only Al Ahli goalkeeper Yazan Naim to beat, but he fumbled with a through pass.
Al Rayyan and Qatar SC coaches pose for a photograph with Algerian stars Yacine Brahimi and Jamal Belamri prior to the kick off of yesterday's match.
Al Sailiya continued their domination in the second half, but a goal eluded them.
The Peregrines’ misfortune continued as Adama’s penalty kick was blocked by the goalkeeper in the 50th minute.
Al Saiiya had won another penalty in the 90th minute, but VAR ruled it out.
Al Ahli showed alacrity as the game progressed, but they also could not make a breakthrough and the stalemate continued until Nigerian striker Eze struck the winner deep into the game.
He sent the ball into an open net when Al Sailiya goalkeeper Claude Amine had left his charge in a bid to thwart a counter-attack.
Meanwhile, hosts Qatar SC defeated Al Rayyan 1-0 after Sebastian Soria struck in the 15th minute.
Qatar SC took their points tally to 12 points while Al Rayyan stood on nine points in the 10th spot in the rankings.
Earlier, at the same venue, Al Wakrah and Al Shamal played out a 1-1 draw.
Al Shamal’s Abdulaziz Metwali scored an own goal in the 36th minute.
Later, Jeison Escobar scored in the 77th minute to help Al Shamal draw level. Al Wakrah raised their points to 16 and Al Shamal moved on to nine points.
The beginning of the first half witnessed a strong battle between the teams, with Al Wakrah testing the Al Shamal defence more.
The first opportunity went to Gelson Dala in the 20th minute, but his header was pushed away by Al Shamal goalkeeper Marwan Sherif.
Escobar came up with a header in the 25th minute, which was also unsuccessful.
Al Wakrah surged ahead when defender Metwali glided the ball into his own net following Dala’s powerful shot from inside the penalty area.
Al Shamal pressed hard in search of an equaliser. Nasser Al Nasr’s shot in the 38th minute was saved by Al Wakrah goalkeeper Saoud Al Khater. The start of second half saw great enthusiasm by both sides.
Even as Al Shamal kept pushing, Al Wakrah’s Omid Ebrahimi received the red card in the 56th minute for charging Nasser Al Nasr. The teams sustained the momentum and Al Shamal succeeded in finding the equaliser through Escobar’s header that beat the goalkeeper.
