Al Khor left if late to secure a 2-0 victory against Qatar SC in their QNB Stars League match at the Al Khor Stadium yesterday.
A brace from Tiago Bezerra (86th-minute penalty and 90+5 minutes) was enough to give Al Khor all three points. Al Khor now have 14 points and Qatar SC stood on 16. Coming into the match in such a precarious league position, it was of paramount importance that Al Khor got off to a good start and they were nearly rewarded in the opening minutes when Ibrahim Amada’s sweet, left-footed volley flew marginally off target.
Much of the rest of the half was dominated by Qatar SC, with Abdenasser El Khayati seeing his goal-bound shot blocked on the line, before Ahmed Moein flashed his shot just wide.
They maintained the pressure into the second period, with Baba Djibril forcing two saves in quick succession. The first, a thunderous drive from 30 yards out, just strayed over the crossbar, with the second, a swerving strike, being well parried by Jassim al-Hail in goal. The turning point of the match came with five minutes of normal time remaining. Mohamed Salem brought down Ahmed Hammoudan in the penalty area and, after a VAR review, his side was awarded a penalty. Tiago stepped up, sent the goalkeeper the wrong way and grabbed his side a vital lead. Deep into injury time, the points were confirmed when al-Hail had strayed out of goal to help his side and was dispossessed before Tiago was sent clear to finish into an open goal.