Mohamed Husain (R) of Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr fights for the ball with Youssef Msakni of Qatar’s Lekhwiya during their AFC Champions League soccer match at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha yesterday.
AFC/Doha
An own goal by Mohamed Musa and a strike by Vladimir Weiss saw Qatari champions Lekhwiya and Saudi Pro League winners Al Nassr share the spoils in a lively encounter in Matchday Two of Group A at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium yesterday
The away side took the lead in the 46th minute when defender Musa diverted a Mohammed al-Sahlawi cross into his own net, but Lekhwiya equalised five minutes later when Weiss neatly finished following good work from Youssef Msakni down the left.
Weiss and al-Sahlawi both missed penalties in a frantic last 30 minutes but despite being reduced to 10 men following Khaled al-Ghambi’s dismissal for a second bookable offence, Al Nassr secured an away point to make it two draws from two after a 1-1 tie with Bunyodkor last time out.
Lekhwiya, who suffered a 3-0 reversal away at Persepolis on Matchday One, got off to the better start and nearly took the lead in the 10th minute when midfielder Nam Tae-hee struck the bar from a narrow angle.
Five minutes later the Saudi side could have gone in front after forward Wila Armando cut in from the left-hand side, only to fire his shot wide from eight yards with only keeper Amine Lecomte to beat.
The home side almost opened the scoring five minutes before the interval after a scramble in the Al Nassr box, but when the ball rebounded to Msakni, he saw his close-range effort rebound off the top of the bar and over.
And it was the Saudis who went in front just a minute after the restart when midfielder al-Sahlawi’s cross from the right side was diverted into his own net by Musa.
But Lekhwiya struck back in the 51st minute after Msakni skipped passed a defender on the left side before cutting the ball back to Weiss, who controlled the ball neatly before tucking home from eight yards.
And the home side should have taken the lead on the hour mark after Weiss burst into the box before being brought down by al-Ghambi. Referee Mohanad Qasim immediately pointed to the spot, but the Slovak’s weak penalty to goalkeeper Abdullah al-Enezi’s right was easily saved.
In an end-to-end game, it was the away side who could have grabbed a second in the 72nd minute, but substitute Ahmed al-Fraidi’s header from inside the six-yard box was brilliantly saved by Lekhwiya custodian Lecomte.
The Saudis were then awarded a penalty with 10 minutes to go when defender Khaled Muftah brought down al-Sahlawi, but his spot kick was superbly saved once more by Lecomte.
And with just minutes remaining, Al Nassr were reduced to 10 men when Al Ghamdi received his second yellow card for a foul on Weiss.
Despite the one-man advantage, though, Lekhwiya were unable to grab a winner in the closing stages and the game ended level.
Meanwhile, a first half penalty scored by skipper Mohamed Noori helped Iran’s Persepolis clinch a tight 1-0 win over Uzbek side Bunyodkor in Tashkent, a result that helped them stay atop Group A.
Noori slotted home from the spot after forward Mehdi Taremi was fouled in the 20th minute as Persepolis won their second match on the trot following their 3-0 drubbing of Qatar champions Lekhwiya last week.
In Tehran, Al Ain drew their second successive match, this time a 1-1 draw with Naft Tehran.
Substitute Siamak Kooroshi put the Iranians ahead in the 49th minute, while last year’s highest scorer Asamoah Gyan equalised 10 minutes later.
BELOW:
Yahia al-Shehri (L) of Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr and with Ismaeil Mohamed of Lekhwiya battle for the ball.
