Al Rayyan and Al Khor played out a 1-1 draw in Week 22 (final round) of the 2020-21 season QNB Stars League at the Al Sadd Stadium on Friday.

Franck Kom (43rd minute) put Al Rayyan ahead, while substitute Said Brahmi (75th minute) equalised for Al Khor with a spot kick.

Al Rayyan thus ensured third-place finish with 35 points, while Al Khor ended up with 17 points.

Al Rayyan launched several attacks soon after the kick-off, with Yohan Boli and Mohammed Juma looking in good touch. Al Khor took defensive positions to close gaps as The Lions continued to put pressure on them to open their account.

Al Khor’s Ahmad Hassan created the first opportunity in the 14th minute, but his shot from a difficult angle was too high. Al Rayyan too took a couple of miscued shots on goal.

However, Kom headed the ball in following a free-kick in the 23rd minute, but the goal was disallowed as his team-mate Shojae Khalilzadeh was found guilty of a foul against Al Khor goalkeeper Ali Nader. 

With most of the action taking place in the centre, Mowafak Awad’s left-footed hit from inside the box following an Al Rayyan attack from right just sailed over the crossbar, nine minutes before the break. 

Kom, left unmarked, put Al Rayyan ahead with a superb header putting the ball in Ali Nader’s right corner, from a free-kick taken by Abdulaziz Hatem, just before half-time.

Al Rayyan maintained over 70 per cent of possession in the first session.

After a fast start to the second half, Shojae’s header from a corner kick just missed the left corner in the 50th minute.

After the hour mark, substitute Ali Ferydoon got hold of a long pass to enter the box, but his hit towards the right corner went wide. Ferydoon’s another attempt to score off a header a few minutes later just sailed over the crossbar as Al Rayyan continued to put pressure for their second goal.

Al Khor, however, bounced back into the match after Brahmi raced into Al Rayyan’s box and referee Abdulhadi Al Ruaile deemed Shojae’s challenge against him a foul, awarding a spot kick to Al Khor.

Brahmi levelled the score with a good low drive in the right, deceiving Al Rayyan goalkeeper Saoud Al Hajri completely.

The final stages of the match saw intense action from Al Rayyan as they sought a winner, but Al Khor did well to stop them from scoring, earning a draw.