Abel Mathias netted the winner as Al Ahli beat Al Sailiya 1-0 in Week 13 of the 2019-20 QNB Stars League at the Al Ahli Stadium on Thursday.

The all-important goal was scored in the 27th minute as Al Ahli moved to 16 points and Al Sailiya remained on 17 points.

It was Al Ahli’s first win, and fifth overall, after they replaced Spanish coach Ruben de la Barrera with Montenegrin Nebojsa Jovovic.

The slump of Al Sailiya, who had recently lost 0-2 to Al Duhail in the 2020 Qatar Cup semifinal, saw them suffer their sixth defeat.

Al Ahli attacked more in the first half and their efforts bore fruit when Abel, who hit wide earlier, connected home a cross from the right flank by Hernan, who was The Brigadiers’ livewire.

Al Ahli’s Abdelrahman Mohammed sent his angular shot against the right upright in the 36th minute, with Hernan providing the pass from the right again.

At the other end, Al Sailiya’s Nadir Belhadj had to see his on-the-run shot go over the bar early in the game.

Later, Al Ahli goalkeeper Ivanildo Rodrigues came up with a diving save after Adel Bader hit the target from an acute angle.

On to the second half, Al Sailiya, displaying an improved performance, tried hard for an equaliser that never came. Sorely missing injured striker Abdulqadir Ilyas, The Peregrines came closest to scoring a goal in the 66th minute. But Karim Ansari, who could not do much in the game, and Mohammed Faisal both failed to connect a cross.

Referee Ali Abdulrahman Al Marri awarded a penalty in the 83rd minute after Al Sailiya’s Mostafa Mohammed handled Abel’s shot, with the former also earning a red card. However, both were ruled out through VAR.