Lekhwiya, freshly crowned Qatar Stars League champions, produced a stirring fightback to come from a goal down against their Iranian opposition for a memorable win. The crowd at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha were silenced when Aloys Nong scored the opening goal for Khouzestan as early as in the ninth minute. Hassan Beit Saeid provided a precise cross from the right flank and Nong’s shot found the back of the net.
This opening goal shocked Lekhwiya but they quickly got into their stride started dominating proceedings. They were constantly on the attack, troubling the Khouzestan defence. But it was a moment of individual brilliance from Nam Tae-Hee that gave Lekhwiya the equaliser.
In the 35th minute, the South Korea midfielder collected the ball outside the box and curled in a precise shot that went in at the far corner. Lekhwiya continued to mount attacks and the second goal came eight minutes later. Tae-Hee fired in a shot from the left flank and the ball was punched out by Khouzestan goalkeeper Vahid Sheikhveisi but it hit Lekhiwya striker Almoez Ali and went in. It was a lucky goal but Ali was at the right place at the right time.
Djamel Belmadi’s boys could have won by a much bigger margin but couldn’t convert the multiple chances that they created. Tae-Hee and Ali were a constant threat and produced clever build-ups but their precision failed at the finishing bit.
If Lekhwiya’s main striker, Yusef el-Arabi (missing because of a shoulder injury) was present, it could have been a different story altogether. They had 20 shots with nine of them on target and enjoyed 63 per cent of the possession. But the missed chances didn’t prove to be costly and they walk away with three valuable points.
With this win, Lekhiwya are now leaders of Group B and with two matches to go in this stage, have put themselves in a strong position to progress to the next round.
Rayyan hold Persepolis
In the other match involving a Qatar side, Al Rayyan were held to a goalless draw by Iran’s Persepolis. However Rayyan will be happy to have left Tehran with a point. They had lost all five of their previous trips to Iran in this tournament.
This match could have gone against them too. Persepolis were awarded a penalty in the 42nd minute after Mosaab Kheder brought down Mehdi Taremi. But the Iranian striker scuffed his shot and Rayyan were given a reprieve.
Persepolis enjoyed 64 per cent of the possession and even had 20 shots at the Rayyan goal. Six of them were on target too but Rayyan managed to survive the onslaught. But despite not seeing too much of the ball, Michael Laudrup’s team managed 13 shots out of which four were on target.
Taremi will be ruing the missed penalty and the multiple other chances that he had to give the home team the victory.
The Iranian striker, who has scored against Rayyan when the two teams met last time, had six shots off target. Rayyan skipper Rodrigo Tabata too had a couple of chances to give his team an unlikely victory but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Rayyan have come away with a valuable point and are still leaders of Group D. They could remain on top if Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal do not win their match against UAE’s Al Wahda.
The two were engaged in a late encounter yesterday.
