Al Sailiya took the early emphasis in the tie, creating the first chance of note when Uzbeki forward Temurkhuja Abdukholiqov picked up a rebound off the feet of Al Sadd defender Mohamed Kasola before firing a fierce shot from the edge of the box.
In the 15th minute, Al Sadd captain Xavi curled in a fine free-kick which had Sailiya keeper Gregory Gomis well beaten, to give his side the lead. It was Xavi’s 10th goal of the season. Barely a minute later, Al Sailiya scored the equaliser after midfielder Sanjar Shaakhmedov found the back of the net.
Al Sadd sprung back into the life after the equaliser and looked to take the lead as the first half came to an end. Two minutes from the first-half, Sadd defender Ibrahim Majid managed a snap-header that just flew over the Al Sailiya crossbar.
Jesaldo Ferriera’s side came out in the second half with renewed vigour, and pushed hard to take the lead again. Unfortunately Algerian striker Bagdad Bounedjah saw his headed effort go just wide of the Al Sailiya goal.
Against the run of play, Al Sailiya took a shock lead through Romanian midfielder Valentin Laz?r. The January signing made a fine solo run before smashing the ball into the back of the net, for his sides second goal of the game.
Al Sadd pushed hard to get back into the match, and leading scorer Bagdad Bounjah duly found an equalizer on the 83rd minute. The Wolves rushed to find a winner to keep their title hopes alive but time ran out on their championship bid.
Rayyan-Arabi draw
Meanwhile, Al Rayyan and Al Arabi shared the spoils in a tame derby encounter at Al Sadd stadium. The Lions opened the scoring towards the end of the second half, before Al Arabi fought back in the second half though Nigerian winger Imoh Ezekiel.
Al Rayyan took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Qatar international striker Sebastian Soria. Winger Abdurahman Al-Harazi pushed forward on the left wing and found Soria who planted the ball past Arabi keeper Rajab Hamza.
Al Arabi pushed hard for an equalizer and both Paulinho and Luis Jiminez had two golden chances to find a way back into the game. Eventually Al Arabi’s pressure tolled on the 52nd minute when defender Yousef Ramadan whipped in a fine cross which fell to the feet of Nigerian striker Imoh Ezekiel who made no mistake from close range.
The tie often boiled over at times and the referee did well to control the players, who weren’t shy in putting in the heavy tackles.
Gharafa defeat El Jaish 2-1
In another match, Al Gharafa came from behind and scored a stoppage time winner to defeat El Jaish 2-1 in a thrilling encounter yesterday.
After a goalless first half, hosts Al Gharafa relied on goals from Othman al-Yahri and Almahdi Ali as the Leopards picked up all three points.
All the action came in the second half when Othman al-Yahri opened the scoring for Al Gharafa in the 72nd minute. Slick build-up play and a neat pass from Slovakian midfielder Vladimir Weiss found al-Yahri who drilled a powerful shot into the back of the net from inside the penalty area.
However, El Jaish regrouped quickly to produce the equaliser as Abdulqadir Ilyas found the net barely a minute later. Ilyas hoodwinked his marker before firing a powerful shot from inside the box for his side’s first and only goal.
Former champions Al Gharafa pushed for a winner and duly scored a late goal in injury time through the head of defender Almahdi Ali who had plenty of time and space to nod the ball into the back of the net from a Vladimir Weiss corner. The win for Al Gharafa gives the Cheetahs a tally of 40 points from 25 QSL games this season.
