A stoppage-time equaliser from Kenji Gorre rescued a point for Umm Salal and threw a spanner in the works of their fancied rivals as Al Gharafa were held to a 1-1 draw in a clash of the Expo Stars League at the Thani Bin Jassim Stadium yesterday.Gorre scored in 90+3 minute after Ferjani Sassi had given Al Gharafa the lead in the 65th minute. The result saw Al Gharafa, who were aiming to go equal with leaders Al Sadd, gaining just one point to remain in second pot with 41 points, while Umm Salal are eighth with 21 points. The other match of the evening, saw Al Rayyan edge Muaither 1-0 at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium and move into third place with a tally of 38 points. Al Wakrah with 37 are fourth in the table. Against Umm Salal, the Cheetahs had their first big chance in the 7th minute when Ahmed Alaaeldin’s right-footed shot narrowly grazed the upright on its way out after a timely set up by Yacine Brahimi.
Umm Salal then had a penalty call in the 30th minute after Al Gharafa’s Lyanco Vojnovic, under pressure from Gorre, appeared to have handled the ball in the 18-yard box. But after a lengthy VAR check, the referee ruled it out.
In the 34th minute, Umm Salal disappointedly missed a chance as Lucas Eduardo Joao’s shot went straight to goalkeeper Khalifa N’diaye’s leg in a one-on-one situation. With a goalless first half, the spectators did not have to wait too long as Al Gharafa scoring through Sassi, who beautifully hammered home from 25 yards out in the 65th minute much to the joy of the team’s vociferous fans.
When it seemed that Al Gharafa would be going home with the maximum points, a series of dramatic events in the dying minutes changed the dynamics, and it ended with Gorre getting the equaliser in added time, following a fast counter-attack, and after Sassi had missed an opportunity to extend Al Gharafa’s lead, thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Landing Badji.Meanwhile, Al Rayyan upstaged Muaither for a valuable win. The Lions’ win was realised through an alert strike from Achraf Bencharki in the 29th minute of the match. And while Muaither, who otherwise gave a good account of themselves throughout against the fancied rivals, did try their best to fetch the equaliser it remained elusive. The result saw Al Rayyan move into third in the rankings with 38 points while Muaither still remain in eleventh place with 14 points.
Muaither had made a spirited start to the game with one of their free kicks going over the rival goal in the 22nd minute. Two minutes later, Muaither’s goalkeeper Ivanildo Rodriguesdos made a fine save after Al Rayyan’s Roger Guedes dribbled through inside the ‘D’ to strike hard. Muaither’s hopes were, however, dashed soon as Al Rayyan won a free kick almost thirty yards away from the box. Rodrigo Tabata, who took the kick, sent the ball into the centre of the danger zone and Yazan al-Arab reached high with his left foot and in the process unsighted an advancing Rodriguesdos as the ball fell to an unmarked Bencharki who gleefully made a high-centre into the goal with a left kick. In the second session, Muaither were further pushed back by a charging Al Rayyan.
In the 59th minute, the Lions almost doubled their lead as Guedes made a dangerous strike from inside right and Rodriguesdos leapt to his right to make a save but the ball rolled along the line to hit the left post before the goalkeeper managed to retrieve it again.
In the 78th minute, Guedes had another shy at the goal following inside the box action but this time his kick was feeble and went straight to the goalkeeper. Minutes later, Muaither’s Tiago De Leonco drove one hard but it went straight to Al Rayyan goalkeeper Fahaad Younis Baker. This was Al Rayyan’s second successive win after they beat Al Duhail 2-0 in the Week 19 match while Muaither’s 11th loss of the season and after they had defeated Umm Salal 2-1 in their earlier game.