Lekhwiya took the lead from the penalty spot on the 64th minute courtesy from striker Alain Dioko, only to be pegged back on the 78th minute from a close range strike from midfielder Ismael Mahmoud.
The first half was a tight affair with both sides cancelling each other. However Lekhwiya found their way into the clash on the 64th minute. Alain Dioko stepped up and dispatched to the left hand side of Umm Salal stopper Baba Malick.
Despite being a goal behind, Umm Salal pushed hard for an equalizer and deservedly grabbed it on the 78th minute. A raking cross field ball from Abdulqadir Ilyas found team mate Sanzhar Tursunov on the right wing, his first time cross fell to Ismael Mahmoud at the far post who tapped in with ease. Much to the delight of head coach, Ulent Byugen.
Lekhwiya’s night went from bad to worse in stoppage time when midfielder Luis Martin was sent off for his second yellow card. Umm Salal are still in fifth place in the QSL standings and are just three points away from fourth placed Al Sadd.
QATAR SC LOSE CRUCIAL MATCH TO KHOR
Khor striker Madson Cardade (2ndL) celebrates after scoring against Qatar SC.
Qatar SC suffered a huge blow in their bid to get away from the relegation zone when they lost 1-3 to Al Khor. The Brazilian strike force came to the fore for Khor when they scored thrice in the first half to effectively settle the tie. All that Qatar SC were able produce was a consolation goal late in the second half.
During the pre-match press conference, Qatar SC Head Coach Sebastiao Lazaroni had said that his side would be wary of his opponent’s Brazilian strike force and that statement proved to be spot on. It began with Julio Cesar providing Khor with a goal as early as in the seventh minute. Diminutive striker Madson Cardade then doubled his team’s advantage in the 21st minute. And then just before the end of the first half, Marcos Miranda scored in the 42st minute to give Khor a great lead going into the break.
In the second half, Khor were content sitting back and letting Qatar SC try and find the goals. Lazaroni’s boys tried to recover from the first-half punishment but could only score in the 70th minute through Han Kook-Young.
This result means that Qatar SC remain in 13th place while Khor have jumped to 9th place, five points clear of the relegation zone.
JAISH HELD TO A DRAW BY MESAIMEER
Jaish striker Abderrazzaq Hamedallah (L) scored for his team yesterday.
El Jaish were held to a 1-1 draw by Mesaimeer. Jaish, coming off a successive Asian Champions League tie against Al Ain, were expected to have an easy victory over bottom-placed Mesaimeer. But things didn’t go according to plan.
The first half didn’t see any goals despite the dominance from Jaish. Early in the second half though, Jaish were able to find the lead in fortuitous circumstances. Mesaimeer goalkeeper Mohamed Ghanem botched his attempt to collect a long ball and Jaish striker Abderrazzaq Hamedallah, despite having fallen to the ground, was able to direct the ball into the back of the net with a great flick. That 51st minute goal should have opened up the goals for Jaish.
Instead Mohammed Jabri conceded a penalty and Wajdi Bouazzi converted from the spot in the 60th minute to give Mesaimeer and unlikely equaliser.
Jaish were lucky that this draw didn’t affect their position on the table because they remain the second place after Lekhwiya were also held 1-1 by Umm Salal.
Mesaimeer on the other hand, have something to be really proud of. This is the first time after nine matches, that they have been able to avoid ending up on the losing front.
