Muaither and Al Arabi share the points

Relegation threatened Muaither offered stiff resistance to pull off a 1-1 draw Al Arabi in a dogged QSL encounter at Al Gharafa stadium. Muaither opened the scoring through Japanese midfielder Minori Sato early in the first half but Al Arabi drew level with a late equaliser in the 43rd minute when Ahmad Khalfan fired one home from close range.

The second half did not produce any goals though attacking football was witnessed from both sides.In the 5th minute of the round 19 clash Al Arabi nearly conceded a goal through reckless clearing by defender Vivien Assie Koua who failed to clear the ball. Despite being poorly cleared by Koua it fortunately landed at the feet of goalkeeper Rajab Hamza who collected the ball quickly with Muaither's Ahmed Shahdad in close proximity.

Keeping their robust form on the pitch in the second half half of the season, Muaither did not disappoint when they grabbed the lead against their superior rivals in the 17th minute. Japanese import Sato scored the opening goal for the boys in white as Al Arabi's new coach Oswaldo Oliveira looked dejected to see his side concede and early goal. It was the 25-year-old's first goal for his new side. Muaither's Ahmed Yasin - charging in from the right flank - clipped a ball past Koua towards Sato - who flicked the ball home from close range.

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A couple of minutes later, Al Arabi's Khalfan deflected the ball towards the goal but Muaither's Hamad Mansour stopped the shot with his right leg. Another two minutes later and Al Arabi's Omar Al-Amadi unleashed a long-range strike but his powerful shot was punched away by Muaither goalkeeper Basel Zidan.

In the 40th minute, Muaither's Ahmed Yasin attempted two shots in as many seconds but on the occasions Al Arabi goalkeeper Hamza offered admirable resistance with two good saves. In the 43rd minute, Al Arabi drew level with a neat exchange between Ali Mohammad and Al-Khalfan. Mohamed clipped a neat ball for unmarked Al Khafan who flicked the ball with ease from close range to leave Muaither players shell-shocked.

The second half had few chances,  however in the 80th minute, Muaither's  could of perhaps scored a winner but Kissito Yessoh ran out of steam as he tried to flick the ball into the net from close range but his feeble shot - with only goalkeeper to beat - was blocked. The draw leaves Phillipe Birol’s side five points away from safety.