Lekhwiya draw  3-3  with Al Wakrah after stunning comeback

 QSL league leaders Lekhwiya bagged a hard fought point against league strugglers Al Wakrah after a stunning comeback that saw the league leaders come from 3-0 down to finish the game 3-3 at the Abdullah Bin Khalifeh Stadium in Sunday’s early Round 17 QSL kick off.

Al Wakrah stunned the league leaders early on by taking the lead after just four minutes of play thanks to a fine finish from their Congolese number 99, Prince Ibara. Lekhwiya failed to properly clear their lines after the first corner of the game and Wakrah’s Ibara was quick to pounce on a loose ball on the edge of the box and smash a volley into the back of the net to make it 1-0.

Things went from bad to worse for wanna be QSL champions Lekhwiya when their number 6, Khalid Muftah, brought down Wakrah’s Mouhcine Moutouali in the 18 yard box with just 16 minutes on the clock. Muftah was lucky to stay on the field as he was Lekhwiya’s last defender and Moutouali was clearly through on goal. The referee was quick to reach for his yellow and blow for a penalty though which Moutouali converted, bagging his seventh of the season to make it 2-0 to Al Wakrah.

There was mass confusion on the 30th minute when the referee awarded a penalty to Lekhwiya after Al Wakrah’s Sultan Al-Breki appeared to control the ball with his arm in the box. Despite the referee blowing for a penalty and Lekhwiya celebrating and placing the ball on the spot, the call was overturned just seconds later after one of the linesmen cast his judgement over the ruling and the referee changed his mind. Despite protests from Lekhwiya’s entire squad, Al Wakrah were awarded a goal kick and play went on.

It didn’t take long for Al Wakrah to make it 3-0 in the second half. On the 50th minute, the ball found its way to number 13, Abdurahman Mesaad who calmly turned inside and wrong footed a defender before hitting a fierce shot with his right from 20 yards out, to score his first goal for the club. 

Most would have assumed Al Wakrah would be leaving with the full three points but Lekhwiya had other ideas and stepped it up a gear in the last 30 minutes. Their comeback started on the 72nd minute when Ali Afif found the back of the net from six yards out after some poor defending from Al Wakrah. 10 minutes later, Afif struck again to make it 3-2, scoring with his head this time after being left in acres of space in the box.

Karim Boudaif made Lekhwiya’s comeback a reality on the 88th minute when he struck a lightning bolt of a shot from 20 yards out to claim a point for the aspiring champions and leave them six points clear at the top.

Al Sadd SC also play on Sunday evening and can narrow the gap to three points if they can beat bottom of the league Muaither SC.

 

Al Sadd cruise past Muaither SC to take three points

Sunday’s final Round 17 QSL clash saw bottom of the table Muaither SC lose 6-1 to second in the league Al Sadd SC as Jesaldo Ferriera’s men took all three points with a commanding performance at Al Gharafa Stadium to keep the pressure on league leaders Lekhwiya.

Al Sadd controlled the game from the whistle and it didn’t take long before they found themselves 1-0 up thanks to a fine goal from their in-form number 8, Ali Assad. After Muaither’s goalkeeper failed to deal with a hard long range shot, Assad was the first to run into the box and follow up parried shot, taking it on his chest before poking it home with his right from ten yards out.

Al Sadd continued their absolute domination of the game and on the 25th minute made it 2-0 when Hamza Sanhaji scored a dramatic diving header from just a yard out. Al Sadd all but secured the three points on the 38th minute when they were awarded a penalty following a trip in the box. Up stepped Hamroun Jugurtha who struck it low and hard into the bottom right hand corner to make it 3-0 to Al Sadd.

Just before the stroke of half time, Muaither got one back to give them a small glimpse of hope going into the second half. Their new signing Kissito Yessoh, powered into the 18 yard box to connect with a perfectly squared pass, taking one touch before drilling a hard low shot into the bottom right hand corner.

Al Sadd started the second half much like the first, dominating possession and camping in Muaither’s half. It didn’t take long for them to all but see off the fixture when Hamroun bagged his second of the game and fifth of the 2016/17 season to make it 4-1 to Al Sadd. Hamroun received the ball on the edge of the box on the 54th minute, ran at two defenders and produced some lovely footwork to generate some space before unleashing a shot that took a deflection and looped over the goalkeepers head.

Just minutes later, Hamza got his second of the game to make it 5-1 to Al Sadd after he connected with a low cross across from Hamroun on the 59th minute, tapping it in from just two yards out.

Muaither continued to look for goal scoring opportunities but Al Sadd controlled the remainder of the game and Mohammed Kasola bagged one more with the last play of the game to make it 6-1 on the night.

The three points leaves Al Sadd just three points behind league leaders Lekhwiya who managed to grab a point against Al Wakrah earlier today after coming back from 3-0 down. Despite two points from their last two games, Muaither now look destined for the drop.