Qatar SC beat Shamal for key win, Markhiya ease past Ahli

Qatar SC notched a crucial win after they edged out Al Shamal 2-1 in the Expo Stars League at the Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday. Qatar SC’s goals were scored by Bruno Tabata (22nd minute) and Youssef Ali (28th minute), while Al Shamal’s goal came courtesy of an own goal by Khalid Ahmed Mahmoudi in the 41st minute.
Saturday’s win took Qatar SC to 19 points as they stay clear of relegation zone in 10th place. Muaither with 14 points are 11th, while Al Markhiya occupy bottom spot with 11 points despite a gutsy 4-1 win over Al Ahli on Saturday.
Al Shamal, after on Saturday’ loss, are seventh with 21 points, just one ahead of Umm Salal and Al Ahli.
The match was evenly balanced with not much difference between the two sides until Qatar SC’s Tabata opened the scoring in the 22nd minute after finishing off an impressive overlapping run by Yohan Boli, who made an impressive sprint with the ball from their own half of the field before perfectly setting up the Brazilian for the sublime finish.
The goal was, however, without incident, as Al Shamal’s Jasim Ali al-Hashimi, who was making a run to tackle Tabata, suffered a likely hamstring injury in the attempt and had to be stretchered out shortly after the goal.
Six minutes later, an error in the midfield by Al Shamal resulted in the ball falling into the hands of Qatar SC’s Raoul Sanda, who made a dashing run before firing a right footed shot that was parried by goalkeeper Abdalla El Rady into the waiting legs of Ali, who only had to tap in to bag the second goal for Qatar SC.
With two goals down, Al Shamal started seeking a way back into the game with some brilliant attacking runs, and their effort eventually paid off in the 41st minute when Mahmoudi mistakenly headed the ball into his own net in an attempt to clear the ball away to pull Al Shamal back into the game.
The scoreline remained the same as the team headed into the dugout for the break.
Al Shamal were the better side for most of the second half, but for all their superior ball possession, they could, however, not get the needed equaliser as Qatar SC stood determined to run away with the maximum points. Al Shamal’s closest attempt at securing the equaliser was in the 80th minute, when Youssef Belhanda’s curling shot grazed the upright on its way out.
With other opportunities far and in-between, the match ended with Qatar SC cruising to a very important win while Al Shamal were left to rue their luck.
At Al Thumama Stadium, Markhiya eased past Al Ahli 4-1. The win gave Markhiya an outside chance of staying in the league with three matches remaining. On Saturday, Bashar Rasan scored a brace in the 44th and 90th minute, while Mohamed Khalid al-Naimi and Naoufal Bannis added a goal each. For Ahli, former PSG star Julian Draxler had given the lead in the 22nd minute.