By Sports Reporter/Doha


A second-half injury-time penalty scored by Khalfan Ibrahim saved Al Sadd’s blushes as Lekhwiya stretched their lead to four points in the Qatar Stars League (QSL) yesterday.
Lekhwiya edged Al Kharaitiyat 1-0, thanks to a Sebastian Soria goal, while Khalfan Ibrahim scored for the spot in the dying minutes as Al Sadd avoided complete embarrassment with a 3-3 draw against Al Ahli.
Lekhwiya now have 48 points from 20 matches, while Al Sadd have 44 with third-placed El Jaish way behind on 34.
Al Sadd needed to win yesterday to challenge Lekhwiya, but the Wolves, looking for an unprecedented 14th league title, lost further ground after they were held in a thriller by a determined Al Ahli.
Mosaab Khoder fired Al Sadd ahead in the 24th minute with a cracking shot from the edge of the box off an assist from Grafite, but their joy of taking an early lead lasted just seven minutes as Iranian Mojtaba Jabari took advantage of a poor clearance and slotted home from close.
Al Sadd were at the receiving end for a sustained period after that and Al Ahli went ahead in the 42nd minute with an unmarked Alan Dioko having it easy after a perfect pass from Jabari.
It appeared that Al Ahli would head into the breather with a one-goal advantage but new signing Grafite rose above the defence in first half added time to score with a fine header off a free-kick taken by Abdulkarim Hassan.
In an equally thrilling second half, both teams missed a plethora of chances but Al Ahli were rewarded with a penalty in the 84th minute for a foul on Jabari, and Dioko made no mistake from the spot with a powerful shot to the centre of the goal as goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb dived to his left.
Al Sadd appeared on course for their second straight defeat  – they were  beaten by Lekhwiya last week – but a whopping eight minutes of added time came to their rescue.
With the minutes ticking down, Al Sadd made several forays into the rival territory without much success, but Dioko handled the ball while trying to stop a shot, and Khalfan easily scored from the spot to help his team clinch a draw.
Earlier, Soria struck in the 54th minute to help Lekhwiya bag three points and take a big step towards retaining their title.
A defence-splitting pass from Karim Boudiaf  down the centre saw Soria perfectly placed to slot the ball easily past the Al Kharaitiyat goalkeeper and put his team on course for what could be their fourth QSL title.
In another match of the day, El Jaish fell to a 1-0 defeat against Qatar Sports Club.