Al Wakrah stun Al Rayyan as Umm Salal beat Al Shamal

Al Wakrah scored a crucial 3-2 win over Al Rayyan in Week 5 of the 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League at the Al Janoub Stadium on Friday.
Al Wakrah’s Mohamed Benyettou hit a brace (45+4 minute) and (52nd minute) after Ayoub Assal’s 16th-minute goal, while Achraf Bencharki (seventh minute) and Rodrigo Tabata (55th minute) scored for Al Rayyan.
Ahead of the match, Al Rayyan were leading the table with 12 points, having won all their four matches. Now, Al Wakrah have 11 points.
Bencharki gave Al Rayyan an early lead with a well-taken right-footed shot from outside the box, following a precise pass from Gabriel Pereira that goalkeeper Saoud al-Khater could not provide an answer to as the ball rolled into the bottom left corner.
The lead only lasted eight minutes as Al Wakrah got their equaliser after captain Benyettou’s centre line pass located Jacinto Dala, who waltzed his way past the Al Rayyan defence before unleashing a ferocious shot that was parried by goalkeeper Fahad Younes into the path of Assal, who made a simple tap in to restore parity.
Four minutes into the added time of first half, Benyettou registered his name on the scorers sheet to give Al Wakrah, who had been in superb form throughout the match, the lead. The Algerian’s knock-down header from the centre of the box following Trent Sainsbury’s pass was simply too much for goalkeeper Fahad Younes to handle as he pushed the ball into the net to give The Blue Wave a 2-1 lead going into the dugout.
In search of a desperately needed equaliser, Tabata was brought in for Al Rayyan on the resumption of second half in place of Ibrahim Ali.
Benyettou got his brace of the night and the third for Al Wakrah in the 53rd minute through a header from the left side of the six-yard box to the bottom left corner following a Lucas Mendes corner.
The celebrations of the goal had hardly died down before Tabata got Al Rayyan back in the game with a well-taken goal from a left-footed shot from the right side of the six-yard box to the bottom right corner. The assist was from Bassam al-Rawi.
Ahmed Fadel got very close to securing the fourth goal for Al Wakrah in the 65th minute, but his left-footed shot from outside the box narrowly missed the top right corner of the goal.
Umm Salal post 3-1 winIn another match, Umm Salal continued their winning run by beating Al Shamal 3-1 at Al Bayt Stadium on Friday.
Nasser Ibrahim (27th minute), Kenji Gorre (52nd minute) and Andy Delort (90+3 minute penalty) were on target for Umm Salal, who recorded their second successive win of the season.
Ali Olwan (45+1 minute) scored the only goal for Al Shamal.
In the day’s last match on Friday, Al Ahli regrouped in fine style as they beat Muaither 4-1 at Al Thumama Stadium. In the previous round, Umm Salal beat Al Ahli 3-1.