A couple of horrible blunders saw Lekhwiya gift Saudi Arabia’s Al Fateh a 2-2 draw in the Asian Champions League at the Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Stadium in Al Hasa.
Four-time Qatar Stars League champions Lekhwiya, who thrashed the UAE’s Al Jazira last week, were clearly the better side but lost out on a golden opportunity to consolidate their position in Group B after allowing their rivals to bounce back from a goal down and clinch one point.
Moroccan international Youssef al-Arabi had netted his third goal in two matches to help Lekhwiya go ahead in the 18th minute, heading the ball crisply off a Youssef Msakni cross, but Nathan Junior scored from the spot to draw level in the 40th minute after Luiz Junior had handled the ball.
As if the handball was not costly enough, Lekhwiya conceded their second goal in the 56th minute when goalkeeper Amine Lecomte’s inept handling of a corner kick saw Sayyef al-Bishi scoring from point blank range.
Lekhwiya clearly were the better side, especially in the latter part of the second half during which they came up with several scoring opportunities.
But forward Youssef Msakni’s shot was saved by Al Fateh goalkeeper Abdullah al-Qaisher and Moez Ali went wide from close.
The Saudi side appeared heading for their first-ever win in the continental event over the years but Lekhwiya’s Nam Tae-hee scored a stunning 86th minute equaliser to deny them three points.
With time running out Lekhwiya’s Korean star Nam found the target following a throw-in with a sweetly struck volley that arched over al-Qaisher into the top right corner of the net.
In another Group B match, Estheglal Kouzestan handed UAE giants Al Jazira their second straight defeat with Aloys Nong finding the net in the very second minute.
Al Jazira, the runaway leaders in the UAE Pro League, were beaten 3-0 by Lekhwiya in Doha last week and their second loss on the trot has left them with a great deal of catching up to do as the tournament progresses.
In Group A, Iran’s Estheglal thrashed Saudi Arabia’s Al Tawoon 3-0 and Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv downed UAE’s Al Ahli 2-0.
Meanwhile, Saudi giants Al Hilal and Qatar’s Al Rayyan will go head to head in Group D of the 2017 AFC Champions League today at Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium with the two sides looking to maintain their unbeaten start on the continent.
 Brazilian Carlos Eduardo netted with eight minutes remaining as Al Hilal secured a 1-1 draw with Persepolis in their opening game of the tournament after falling behind midway through the second half.
Al Rayyan, meanwhile, ran out 2-1 victors over Al Wahda in their first match of the campaign as goals from South American duo Gonzalo Viera and Victor Caceres ensured a win on their return to the competition, before the Doha-based team then lost by the same scoreline to Al Gharafa in the Qatar Stars League on Saturday.
Al-Hilal won both of the previous two encounters between these teams, outscoring Al Rayyan by a combined score of 5-1 in the 2013 Group Stage.
Al Rayyan have lost 12 of their last 13 games away from home at this tournament (W1), including each of the last seven despite having scored a combined six goals in their last three such games.