Leaders and hosts Al Duhail scraped past Al Markhiya 2-1 after a hard-fought battle in Week 10 of the QNB Stars League yesterday.
Goals by Youssef Msakni (ninth minute) and Nam Tae-hee (43rd) powered the reigning champions to their ninth victory and 28 points.
Midfielder Saleh al-Yazidi scored Al Markhiya’s only goal in the 15th.
Al Duhail opened the scoring when Msakni charged into the Al Markhiya box and slipped past three defenders before firing a low shot past goalkeeper Mohamed Khuroob. It was his ninth goal this season.
Six minutes later, feared striker Youssef El Arabi slipped in a neat cross from the flank, but Msakni’s snap-header did not have the pace to beat Khuroon.
Soon, Al Markhiya midfielder Al Yazidi equalised with a slick close-range flick that crashed into the Al Duhail net, much to the horror of Al Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi.
Close to the half-hour mark, Al Markhiya’s Talal Ali got booked with a yellow card for bringing down Lucas Mendes of Al Duhail. In the 34th minute, star striker Youssef El Arabi headed home from close, but the linesman ruled it off-side.
Two minutes from half-time, South Korean Nam easily slotted one home from inside the Al Markhiya box.
Both teams traded attacks in the second half, but neither could find the net and Al Duhail picked up three valuable points in their title chase.
Al Duhail face Al Sailiya and Al Markhiya play Umm Salal in Week 11.
In another match yesterday, a late strike by forward Majed Mohamed steered Al Ahli past Al Sailiya 2-1.
Majed supplemented the effort of team-mate Mohamed Muntari, who had scored Al Ahlis first goal in the 24th minute. For Al Sailiya, Valentin Lazar found the net in the 21st at the Al Ahli Stadium.
Al Ahli’s third win took their points tally to 11.
In an explosive start to the game, Al Sailiya’s Temurkhuja Abdukholiqov smashed a powerful shot against the Al Ahli crossbar as early as the second minute. Standing unmarked near the edge of the box, the Uzbek forward unleashed a powerful shot that ricocheted off the horizontal, much to the relief in the rival camp.
A minute later, Al Ahli’s Colombian import Cristian Nazaret weaved his way into the Al Sailiya box with a slick move, but his narrow-angle shot from close range was smartly blocked by goalkeeper Mahamat Aziz, who had charged out of his position on the goal-line.
Al Sailiya opened the scoring through a solo move by Romanian midfielder Lazar, who found his fourth goal of the season.
Three minutes later, Muntari raced into the Al Sailiya box and beat the goalkeeper on his first attempt following a long ball from the midfield that landed perfectly in front of the Qatar forward.
Late in the second half, Majed chose the perfect moment to score, beating Al Sailiya defender Mohamed Mustafa before calmly slotting the ball past goalkeeper Aziz with a low shot in the 84th.
Al Ahli are up against Al Rayyan, while Al Sailiya run into Al Duhail in the next round.