Khor too good for lacklustre Kharaitiyat

Al Khor continued their impressive start to 2017 with a comfortable 2-0 win over Al Kharaitiyat on Friday evening. The Knights dominated play for most of the game and  grabbed all three points thanks to goals in either half from Kuwaiti defender Sultan Al Enezi and attacker Babou Sidiki.

Jean Fernandez’s side made a dream start registering their opener in the sixth minute. Babou Sidiki sent a free kick into the box from the left side towards Sultan Al Enezi who leaped up to meet the ball and guided the ball into the net to give his side an early lead.

Khor enjoyed the majority of the ball in the first half, and came close to doubling their lead five minutes from half time. Brazilian attacker Madison played a neat one-two pass with Mouhcine Iajour, who found himself one on one with the keeper but the Moroccan’s shot went straight at the keeper, Ahmed Sufyan, who rushed forward to make the save. Al Khor ended the first half with a slender 1-0 advantage.


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Just five minutes into the second half Babou Sidiki tapped in the ball into the goal  capitalising from a mazy run  from Mouhcine Iajour who dribbled his way into the six-yard box and was tackled by Kharaitiyat defender Domingos. Sidik was quick to convert the follow up and score the goal from close range to double his side’s lead.

Al Kharaitiyat tired to get back into the game in the second half to little avail. The clearest opportunity  that The Thunder’s could muster was when attacker Anouar Diba hit the cross bar on the half-volley after bringing down a cross inside the box in the eighty-second minute.

The victory takes Al Khor’s tally up to nineteen points as they sit in seventh place. While Ahmad Al-Ajlani’s team are just above the drop zone in the tenth position with fifteen points to their name.

Debut goal for Abdukholiqov as Al Sailiya edge Umm Salal

A goal from January signing Temurkhuja Abdukholiqov gave Al Sailiya a 1-0 win over Umm Salal to give their survival chances a major boost on Friday evening. The Peregrines were successful in breaching the Orange Fortress as they ended up winning the game by a solitary goal in the first half.

At the half hour point of the game Hamad Al Obaidi made a fantastic run from the half line. The young Qatari produced a brilliant bit of skill as he was twisting and turning his way into the opponents box after flicking the ball through two defenders. He was fouled by Umm Salal defender, Anderson Vieira, inside the box and the referee immediately pointed to the spot.

Abdukholiqov stepped up and duly slotted the penalty to the right of Baba Malick, who went the wrong way. The Uzbek attacker scored on his Sailiya debut to give his side the lead.

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Umm Salal didn’t have many clear chances at goal throughout the game. Mahmoud Jaber’s men were unable to penetrate the resilient defence of Al Sailiya. Salem Khalifah  of Umm Salal did manage to get a shot on target with a strike from outside the box but it was fisted away by Sailiya stopper, Gregory Gomis.

Overall, the match was a tactical battle with both sides trying to outsmart the other. Umm Salal managed four shots on target without a goal while Sailiya managed three shots at goal throughout the ninety minutes. With both sides having almost equal possession only the first half goal separated the two team.

The win gives Sami Trabelsi’s men a huge boost as they move out of the drop zone into ninth with eighteen points. The New signings played their part for Sailya as Umm Salal remain winless in three games and are sixth in the table with twenty points.