Al Wakrah shocked title contenders Al Arabi 2-1 in Week 20 of the 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League at the Al Arabi Stadium on Saturday.

The Blue Wave struck late after Al Arabi had equalized to snatch victory and a place in the top four of the rankings with a tally of 33 points from 20 matches. Al Arabi remained second in the table with 43 points.

While Yousef Abdurisag (34th minute) and Mohammed Khaled Hassan (90+1 minute) scored for Al Wakrah, Omar Al Somah (82nd minute penalty) scored for Al Arabi.

The hard efforts of Al Arabi in restoring parity after their rivals had taken the lead were put paid in the end by a composed Hassan who was put through with a brilliant pass by Jacinto Dala. Midfielder Hassan went through two defenders from the left inside the box and beat a diving Al Arabi goalkeeper Jassim Al Hail to find the winner.

A little while earlier, Al Arabi had pulled level with Al Somah’s penalty kick after Lucas Sainsbury was penalised for a handball inside the box after a corner kick.

The Blue Wave were put ahead in the match by an alert Abdurisag who latched on to a ball on a rebound after Hazem Shehata’s powerful kick hit the bottom of the right goal post.

Al Arabi had many chances at the start, but they could not find a good finish. In the ninth minute, Al Somah got a ball across in front of goal, but there was no one to take advantage of.

In the 15th minute, Rafinha Alcantara made an attempt at the goal, but his shot was feeble. He returned in the 25th minute sprinting down hard, but was tackled by the rival defenders inside the box.

In the 70th minute, Al Arabi’s Ahmed Suhail provided a super pass to Rami, but the latter failed to get the ball into an empty goal, with his kick going diagonally wide to the left.