Al Ahli scored a 4-2 win over Al Wakrah in a thrilling Round 5 (Group A) encounter of the 2023-2024 season Ooredoo Cup at the Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Stadium of Al Wakrah club on Saturday.

While the goals for Al Ahli came from Amin Tihi (25th minute), Navid Mohammed (54th minute), Khaled Yousef (78th minute own goal) and Oumar Sekou (87th minute), the scorers for Al Wakrah were Omar Ali (17th minute) and Nasser Saleh Al Yazidi (75th minute).

Al Wakrah also suffered a squandered spot-kick to add to their woes.

Al Ahli ended up second in the group with 10 points, behind Umm Salal (11 points). Second-placed Al Arabi (eight points) and fourth-placed Qatar SC (seven points) also reached the quarterfinals from Group A.

Al Wakrah finished fifth with six points and Muaither last without any point.

The Blue Wave had made a good start to the game early with Khaled Munir breaking past two defenders and striking. His kick, however, hit the left pole and ricocheted for Omar Ali to put the ball back into the net.

Al Ahli hit back soon as Amin Tihi scored with a header following a free-kick. The goal was signalled after a VAR check which showed the player being wafer thin margin away from being offside as he broke past the wall on the right.

Both teams went into the break at 1-1.

After resumption, the match picked up more intensity as both sides came close to scoring.

Al Ahli then moved into the lead with a fine on-the-run goal from Navid, who deflected a fine cross from the right from Abdulrasheed Ibrahim (2-1).

Al Wakrah had a chance to equalize after they won a penalty in the 65th minute. VAR showed Al Ahli captain Jassem Omar’s tackle had brought down a charging substitute Ayoub Assal in the danger area.

Assal’s spot kick was, however, stopped by Al Ahli goalkeeper Marwan Sherif, who dived superbly to his left.

The Blue Wave made up for the lapse drawing parity soon as Al Yazidi latched onto a chance in front of the goal, following a free-kick, as he swivelled to send the ball in (2-2).

With both sides pushing hard, Al Wakrah’s substitute Khaled Yousef then deflected a cross into his own goal while trying to defend which cost the side dear (2-3).

The Brigadiers eventually sealed the deal, with their star Sekou producing a telling goal. The 20-year-old picked up the ball from 10 yards outside the box and rushed in to slam the goal with his left foot.