Al Duhail rallied to score a 2-1 win over Al Rayyan in a thrilling QNB Stars League match at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday. Goalless at half-time, the match turned in a humdinger in the second half with Rayyan ruing an 89th-minute missed penalty strike by Yohan Boli which hit the crossbar and denied them the chance to force a draw.
It was Boli who opened the scoring with a wonderful goal in the eighth minute before Al Duhail came back with goals from Yousef Ayman and Khaled Mohamed in the 48th and 87th minute respectively.
The final moments of the match saw frenetic action and a volley from Boli was stopped by hand of Al Duhail’s Diyab Haroon earning him a red card and a spot-kick to Al Rayyan. While Boli took the kick and hit hard, the ball hit the top bar of the goal post and flew away.
Earlier, soon in the second half, an alert Yousef Ayman chipped in Duhail’s equaliser in a goalmouth melee following a well-directed corner kick from Edmilson Junior. The goal saw The Red Knights gain momentum and attack the opponents’ goal on several occasions.
They eventually succeeded in scoring the second goal when Khaled Mohamed picked on the ball after a lapse from a rival player and made a dash from near the centre to beat a hapless goalkeeper to his right with a powerful hit from the top of the box.
Duhail seemed heading home before Boli’s kick from a cross into the goal was stopped by Diyab. Unfortunately for Al Rayyan and luckily for Al Duhail, the penalty could not be converted into a goal. In the end, a foul against Edmilson on the sidelines saw tempers flare.
Earlier, Al Arabi went top of the league after a 2-0 win over Al Markhiya at the Education City Stadium. The star of the match for Arabi, who now have nine points with an all-win record, was Yousef Msakni, with the Tunisian instrumental in both goals.
Msakni was first involved with an assist in the 49th minute for Omar al-Somah to score, while in the 74th minute, he himself delivered a successful header. Following a goalless opening half, Arabi struck soon in the second session and held sway for most part of the match.
Msakni was involved in most of Arabi’s attacking action against Markhiya. His hard efforts were rewarded when Arabi set up an attack from top the box and Msakni who was on the left inside the danger area beat a charging goalkeeper by making a fine pass on the right to an unmarked al-Somah, who gleefully put the ball in an empty net.
Later, Msakni made the most of a perfect long pass from Ibrahim Nasser Kalla by heading over his left shoulder for his first and his team’s second goal. The strike dampened Markhiya’s hopes of a comeback. But Arabi clearly were the dominating side on the day, raiding the rival goal several times.
The league leaders could have ended with more goals had it not been for some close missed chances. Abdulaziz al-Ansari’s left kick just missed the goal post by inches on the right in the 67th minute while al-Somah’s shot went wide in the 88th minute.
Markhiya had their fair share of chances in the first half, with Jugurtha Hamroun and Driss Fettouhi going close. In the 25th minute, Arabi’s goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada had a forceful fall on his back while trying to collect an Al Markhiya corner kick. Thankfully, the goalie was back on his feet soon.

Al Sadd take on Al Ahli,
seek first win
Reigning champions Al Sadd – who are missing key players due to Qatar internationals being away on national camp – will take on Al Ahli at the Ahmad Bin Ahli Stadium today.
Sadd have just one point from two matches after they drew with Umm Salal last week, while they lost the opening match to Markhiya. The Wovles are 10th on the table and they need to regroup if they need to keep their title chances alive.
“We played well but didn’t grab our chances against Umm Salal,” Sadd coach Juanma Lillo said. “We hope to create chances and score so that we can enjoy our first win. I have great confidence in my players,” he said.
Al Ahli – who have won one a drawn another – are fourth in the table. “We’re on the way and there are many matches ahead. Sadd might be without many players but the match won’t be easy. We need to be totally focused to achieve our goal. I can assure you that we’ll give it our all to try and win the match,” Al Ahli coach Nebojsa Jovovic said.
In another match today, Al Gharafa take on Al Shamal at the Al Thumama Stadium. Gharafa have one win and a draw in two games while Shamal won the opener before losing the next match.