The excitement in the 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League increased after Week 19 action, held over three days (April 13, 14 & 15), which witnessed goals galore and changes in team rankings.

Al Arabi back in lead after long gap

Al Arabi and Al Ahli presented one of the most exciting league matches this season and Al Arabi managed to win by a 4-3 margin. The beginning of the match was shocking to Al Arabi fans, who saw them concede twice through Jordanian Yazan Al Naimat inside half hour, but they struck back before the first half ended through Abdullah Al Muraisi and Omar Al Somah.

On to the second half, Yousef Msakni took Al Arabi ahead with a penalty goal. Although Al Ahli resisted fiercely and succeeded in equalizing through their captain Ali Qaderi, Msakni again found the target to hand his team valuable full points and they raised their tally to 43 points, while Al Ahli remained on 21 points in seventh place.

Al Gharafa end Al Duhail’s good run

The Al Gharafa vs Al Duhail match was no less exciting. Al Gharafa, who lost 0-3 in the first leg, succeeded in denying Al Duhail and took advantage of the spaces left by their rivals. Finally, substitute Ishak Belfodil broke through the rival defence and scored in the 62nd minute.

Al Gharafa managed to contain the likes of Al Duhail stars Michael Olunga and Almoez Ali, and Moayad Hassan sealed the issue deep into stoppage time.

Al Gharafa thus strengthened their position in fourth place with 32 points, while Al Duhail suffered their second defeat during the season, after a series of victories and draws, and lost the lead position as they stood on 42 points. They will face Al Rayyan in a postponed match from Week 15 on April 18, 2023.

Al Sadd keep winning, Al Wakrah back with big victory

Al Sadd continued to maintain third place with 38 points, after achieving another victory, this time at the expense of Qatar SC (2-0). Qatar SC succeeded in preventing Al Sadd from scoring in the first hour, but Akram Afif broke the deadlock in the 67th minute.

Ahmed Al Saeed then scored at the death (90+9 minute) to hand The Wolves full points. Qatar SC stood on 26 points in sixth place after suffering their fourth defeat in the last five matches.

 

Meanwhile, Al Wakrah got back to the winning path with a 5-1 verdict over Al Shamal in a match The Blue Wave dominated.

After Al Wakrah took the lead through Yousef Abdurisag in the 17th minute, Al Shamal equalized through Yacine Bammou in the 57th minute. But Al Wakrah pumped in four more goals, through Jacinto Dala (74th and 80th minutes), Mohamed Benyettou (77th minute) and Murad Naji (85th minute) to run out as easy winners. Al Wakrah moved on to 30 points in fifth place, while Al Shamal dropped to 10th place from ninth with 17 points.

Battle for survival hots up

The battle for survival also hotted up after Al Rayyan and Al Sailiya were tied 2-2 and Umm Salal defeated Al Markhiya 3-2. Al Rayyan were on course to win after they went up with goals from Yohan Boli and Abdulaziz Hatem before half-time, but Al Sailiya bounced back with goals from Mohammed Diame and Carlos Standberg (penalty) in first-half injury time. Al Rayyan are now on 17 points in ninth place and Al Sailiya remained in last place with 10 points.

The Umm Salal vs Al Markhiya game also witnessed great excitement before The Orange Fortress prevailed. Abdullah Khafifi (31st minute), Ismail Ibrahim (59th minute) and new recruit Aleksa Vukanovic (71st minute) scored for Umm Salal, whereas Ayoub Assal (35th minute) and Driss Fettouhi (69th minute penalty) were Al Markhiya’s scorers.

Umm Salal moved on to 16 points in 11th position, six points ahead of Al Sailiya, while Al Markhiya remained on 18 points in eighth place.