Umm Salal’s smash and grab against Al Arabi
 
Al Arabi 0-1 Umm Salal
 
Umm Salal boosted their top four hopes with a 1-0 win against Al Arabi.
 
Gianfranco Zola’s Dream Team were the better side for much of this encounter at Grand Hamad Stadium. But it was Bulent Uygun’s men who claimed all three points, and with it an outside chance of sneaking into the Qatar Cup places.
 
Salal have been the draw specialists in this QSL season after racking up 11 stalemates in their first 23 games. But they held on for the victory here to move on to 38 points, and now sit just three points behind fourth-placed Lekhwiya, who lost 2-0 to Al Khor on Friday.
 
Despite missing the injured Paulinho, Arabi bossed possession throughout the game. However they failed to break down a resilient Salal side which was forced to rely on counter-attacks for much of the match. Arabi’s depleted forward line suffered another blow early on when Yusef Ahmed was forced off after a collision with Salal goalkeeper Baba Malick.
 
Against the run of play, Salal scored the game’s only goal in the 33^rd minute. Arabi defender Javad Nekounam’s attempted clearance went straight to Abdulgadir Ilyas, and the Sudanese forward’s cross was headed in by Mounir El Hamdaoui. The Moroccan powered home his effort after Mohammed Salem failed to head the ball clear.
 
Arabi should have gone ahead midway through the first half through Ahmed Khalfan. Sousa did superbly well to win the ball deep in Salal’s half before bursting past two defenders and crossing for the Qatari forward. But Khalfan failed to keep his weak shot on target after finding himself in plenty of space in the penalty area.
 
Sousa then created an opportunity of his own just a minute later. He ran at the flat-footed Arabi defence but hit his 25-yard shot over the bar.
 
Arabi were quick out of the blocks in the second half but struggled to create clear-cut chances. Sousa was again at the heart of most attacks, while Ashkan Dejagah was beginning to exert his influence in midfield.


 
However, despite Arabi’s dominance, Salal were looking dangerous on the counter. Ilyas volleyed over in the 66^th minute after meeting a pinpoint cross from Yannick Sagbo, while El Hamdaoui should have grabbed his second late on but dragged his left-footed shot wide. Salal created another opportunity in stoppage time. Ismail Mardanli produced a good run and cross but Adel Alawi headed over the bar.
 
Arabi kept pressing for an equaliser in the final throes but the closest they came was a penalty appeal in the last play of the match. Seconds later the referee blew the final whistle and ended Arabi’s hopes of finishing in the top four.
 
The night belonged to Salal. It was a smash-and-grab victory but one head coach Uygun will savour. The Orange Fortress now have a genuine chance of upsetting one of the QSL big boys and qualifying for the Qatar Cup.