Al Ahli defeated Muaither 2-1 in Round 2 (Group A) of the 2023-2024 season Ooredoo Cup at the Grand Hamad Stadium of Al Arabi club on Sunday.

Abdulrasheed Ibrahim (38th minute) and Oumar Sekou (81st minute) scored for Al Ahli, while Guy Mbenza got Muaither’s only goal from the penalty spot in the 51st minute.

With the result, Al Alhi, who lost 1-2 to Qatar SC in the first round, now have three points, while Muaither, who also lost by the same margin to Al Arabi in the opening round, are yet to have any points after two matches played.

Muaither’s Aymane El Hassouni tested Al Ahli goalkeeper Marwan Sherif within the first minute of kick-off following a defensive error in the midfield by Al Ahli.

Mbenza got another chance at goal for Muaither in the seventh minute, but his jumping header went inches wide of the post.

As the match progressed, Al Ahli continued to soak up Muaither’s pressure, with Mbenza being the main culprit terrorizing The Brigadiers’ defence, while keeper Sherif prevented what could have been a basket of goals with his fine saves. 

Muaither’s Ramon Arias saw his 20th-minute header off a corner kick graze the upright on its way out, while Sekou got the chance to put Al Ahli in the lead against the run of play in the 17th minute, but his indecision, with only goalkeeper Moayyad Chanan Abdulla to beat, allowed Muaither’s defence to recover the ball from him.

Despite being on the backfoot for most of the first half, it was Al Ahli who first hit the target through Abdulrasheed Umaru Ibrahim in the 38th minute following a throwing that was not well handled by Muaither’s defence, allowing the player to slot the ball between the legs of goalkeeper Abdulla. The offside call was initially issued against the player following the goal, but after a VAR check, the goal was eventually allowed to stay.

Sekou almost doubled the lead just before the break after sublime footwork in Muaither’s penalty area, but his final touch on the ball was simply too weak to cause any problems for goalkeeper Abdulla. 

On resumption of the second half, things continued where they stopped with Muaither doing much of the pressing, and their efforts were eventually rewarded in the 51st minute when Mbenza restored parity for them from the spot following a ball handling by Al Ahli in the penalty area.

Substitute Abdulghani Munir almost turned the tide in Muaither’s favour when he was in a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Sherif in the 79th minute, but the Al Ahli shot stopper was on hand to save the day with a very fine save.

Three minutes later, it was the turn of Al Ahli to have a shot at goal and Sekou wasted no time this time around in slotting the ball into Muaither’s net after a fine run in the 18-yard box to restore Al Ahli’s lead.