Umm Salal and Al Rayyan played out a 0-0 draw in Week 5 of the 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday.

Despite the best efforts from either side, the deadlock could not be broken and the end result saw Al Rayyan get their first point in the new season after suffering four consecutive losses.

Umm Salal’s points tally went up to five from as many games with a win, two draws and as many losses so far.

Al Rayyan would surely reflect on their best chance of the evening which came in the 13th minute when Steven Nzonzi’s header off a corner kick hit the left post and flew away.

The Lions, who have been missing a number of players due to injuries and suspensions, suffered one more blow, with their defender Yasser Hamed suffering an ankle injury in the 55th minute.

Al Rayyan’s Khaled Ali too pulled up a cramp at a crucial juncture, but recovered soon to carry on and played an important role though the chances created could not be converted.

Al Rayyan pushed harder in the second half and came close to scoring, but the scoring strike remained elusive.

In the 70th minute, Tameem Mansour made a good strike from inside the box, but Umm Salal goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar made a very good save flying to his right.

Minutes later, Tameem made a good cross in front of the goal, but the ball was too far for Mekki Mohsen to connect.

Umm Salal too had their chances, the closest being in the 35th minute when Abdulrahman Raafat connected a header, but the ball went just wide of the left post.

Umm Salal captain Jonathan Kodjia worked very hard creating openings and strikers Joao Teixera and Sardor Rashidov kept lurching, but the Al Rayyan defence held up well with some good markings.