Al Ahli claim vital three points with 2-0 win over Al Wakrah

 League strugglers Al Ahli claimed a vital three points against relegation battlers Al Wakrah, beating them 2-0 at Al Wakrah Stadium in the QSL’s early Saturday Round 16 kick off.Both sides came into the game desperate for all three points, with Al Wakrah hoping a win would help them climb out of the relegation zone and Al Ahli hoping to move up the table and avoid dropping into it.

After a cagey opening 20 minutes which saw very few clear cut chances on goal from either side, Al Ahli were gifted the lead when Al Wakrah’s Mohamed Arafa scored an own goal. On the 23rd minute, Al Ahli’s number 7, Ali Ferydoon, managed to beat the offside trap and latch onto a lovely through ball in the 18 yard box which split the defence and left him one on one with Al Wakrah’s goalkeeper.

Ferydoon’s shot beat the goalkeeper at his near post but smashed into the base of the post before bouncing back into the six yard box at pace. Luckily for Al Ahli, the rebound hit Al Wakrah’s Arafa who was unable to move out of the way quickly enough and it ricocheted off his shin and rolled over the line to give Al Ahli a lucky 1-0 lead.

Al Ahli doubled their lead just minutes later when Ferydoon struck again, picking up a loose ball in the 18 yard box after some sloppy defending from Al Wakrah. Ferydoon dropped his shoulder and faked two defenders, leaving them diving for a non-existent shot, before he unleashed a fierce right footed drive into the bottom right hand corner of the goal to make it two to The Brigadiers with 27 minutes on the clock.

Al Wakrah came out looking like a different side after the halftime break, hunting down every second ball in their mission to get back into the game. Al Wakrah should have made it 2-1 on the 61st minute when their big number 16, Mahir Bakur, who was subbed on at half time, out-jumped an Ahli defender to get his head to a looping corner. Despite connecting well with the ball he failed to test the goalkeeper and it sailed high over the cross bar.

Al Wakrah continued to pressure Al Ahli and thought they’d bagged a goal to make it 2-1 on the 75th minute when their Congolese forward, Prince Ibara, managed to connect with a high looping cross that floated into the six yard box. Despite heading it into the back of the net, the referee deemed Ibara had fouled the goalkeeper and blew for a free kick, a decision which drew lengthy protests from Al Wakrah.

Al Wakrah found themselves camped in Al Ahli’s half for the remainder of the game, keeping possession well, but were unable to find the back of the net and the game finished 2-0 to Al Ahli. The loss deepens Al Wakrah’s relegation woes and they now find themselves on 11 points and joint bottom with Muaither SC who bagged a point at Al Gharafa during their 16:10 fixture. Al Ahli edge towards safety thanks to the three points.

Muaither share the points with Al Gharafa in battling 2-2 draw

Muaither came from two goals behind to secure a vital point to boost their relegation hopes with a 2-2 draw against Al Gharafa on Saturday evening. Pedro Caixina’s side raced into a two goal lead thanks to Rashid Sumaila and Kooky Han before being pegged back in the second half as Muaither got the points through Bruno Aguiar and Nasser Al-Nassr. 

Al Gharafa looked like the better side in the early exchanges and eventually broke the Muiather resistance on the 37th minute of the game. A well worked free-kick routine fell to midfielder Kooky Han, who drilled the ball across the penalty area and found Rashid Sumaila who knocked the ball home from close range. 

Pedro Caixina’s side where in the ascendancy and two minutes later duly doubled their lead though South Korean midfielder Kooky Han. A corner was not dealt with by the Muaither defence and the ball came back into the box and fell to Han, who nodded the ball into the goal which was cleared o by Basil Zedan. However the goal was rightly given by the assistant referee as the ball went over the line. The first half ended 2-0 in favour of Al Gharafa.

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Phillipe Birol’s side came out in the second half with renewed vigour and looked to cut down Al Gharafa’s lead. On the 51st minute Iraqi international Ahmed Yasin, who was replacing leading scorer Alain Dioko in the the side curled a shot from outside the area which skipped just wide. 

Muaither found their way back into the game moments later when Gharafa defender Rashid Somalia tackled Minori Sato in the area and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Defender Bruno Aguiar stepped up and scored his first goal of the season, calmly slotting the ball past Yusef Hassan. 

Growing in confidence, Muaither began to pushing their opponents, dominating the play and the ball without really troubling the Al Gharafa defence. That all changed however on the 71st minute when substitute Nasser Al-Nassr grabbed an equaliser with a cross come shot which sailed past Yusef Hassan. 

Both sides looked for a winner and spurned a host of chances in the final ten minutes of the tie.On the 83rd minute Johnson Kendrick drew a good save from Muaither keeper Basil Zedan to deny the Gharafa supstitue a late winner.

Whilst Muaither Striker Ahmed Yassen missed a perfect oppurtunity to give Muaither the winner after being put through one on one with keeper Yusef Hassan. Unfortunately the Iraq international smacked the ball well wide. The result means that Muaither secured their second draw in as many games and closed the gap on thirteenth placed Al Wakrah.