Za’tara strikes to give Muaither slender victory over Khor

Muaither grabbed their third straight victory of the season on Friday evening with a narrow 1-0 win over Al Khor. Phillipe Birol’s side put in a composed performance in defence, reducing the visitors to half chances for most of the game. On the stroke of half time, Muaither took the lead though Jordanian striker Mahmoud Za’tara and his goal was enough to give his side all three points. 

The opening exchanges lacked many clear chances with Muaither looking organised in defence restricting Al Khor to minimal chances, despite the visitors dominating possession. One source of concern for Phillipe Birrol was the departure of veteran midfielder Mohamed Yassr on the tenth minute, after a nasty clash of heads. 

Jean Fernandez’s side began to pressurise the QSL new boys, and started to dominate possession and chances. With thirty one minutes on the clock, Madson knocked in a dangerous free kick into the Muaither penalty box. The ball was promptly punched away by Stallions keeper Basil Zidan, which fell to Khor defender Musaab Abdulmajeed unfortunately his quick swivel and shot just flashed wide.

Another mishap from Basil Zidan gifted Khor another golden opportunity on the forty first minute. Zedan was caught well off his line, and Madson produced a deft chipped shot which was cleared of the line by Muaither’s Brazilian defender Bruno Aguiar. 

Then against the run of play Muaither took a shock lead with seconds left to play in the first half.  Stallions Captain Alain Dioko took advantage of a headed back pass and rounded Khor keeper Papa Djibril, Dioko then passed to strike partner Mahmoud Za'tara who slid in to score his second goal of the season, giving Phillipe Birol’s men a vital lead going into the break. 
 

Khor upped the ante in the second half in their search for an equaliser, however where reduced to half chances again by the home side. Khor’s diminutive midfielder Madson cut a frustrated figure in attack. However Muaither remained resolute through out the second half with Brazilian defender Bruno Aguiar looking impressive for the Stallions. 

Khor’s first real chance of the second half came with seventy minutes on the clock. The ball was swept to Moroccan attacker Mouchine Iajour, who ran at the Muaither defence. His blasted shot however was gratefully picked up by Basel Zidan. 

With Khor pushing for a equaliser Muaither had a fine chance to double their lead with ten minutes left to play. Alain Dioko found himself one on one with the keeper on the right wing, unfortunately his cross to Ayoub Ouadrassi was intercepted by Khor defender Musaab Abdulmajeed. 

With just minutes left substitute Hamad Mansor put through Alain Dioko one on one with Khor keeper Papa Djibril. However the Stallions captain lacked the composure in front of goal, with his shot drawing a good save from Djibril. Despite the late Al Khor onslaught, Muaither held out for their third straight win of the QSL season and pushed themselves up out of the relegation zone.  



Loé goal gives Sailiya first win of the season

A stunning second half strike from Cameroonian midfielder Raoul Loé was enough to give Al Sailiya their first victory of the QSL season against fellow strugglers Al Kharaitiyat on Friday evening. New Kharaitiyat coach Ahmad Al Ajlani will be disappointed that his side didn't get anything from the match, despite having the lion share of possession and chances during the game. 

The first half was a feisty encounter with plenty of tackles flying in with from both sides. With twenty seven minutes on the clock, Sailiya created their best chance of the tie. Cameroonian striker Paul Efoulou  worked a good pass inside the penalty area, the resulting shot brought a smart reflex save from Kharitiyat captain Ahmed Soufiane in goal. 

With the tie heading into the final minutes of the first half Ahmad Al Ajlani’s Al Kharaitiyat began to show their quality with two major chances to open the scoring. Australian midfielder Erik Paartalu’s shot on the half volley was well saved by Sailiya stopper Gregory Gomis with thirty eight minutes played.  

Gomis was also hand four minutes later to save his side by pulling of an impressive save to deny Abdelmoula Berrabeh’s freekick, which looked like it was creeping into the top corner. Despite the Thunders pushing for the opener, both teams walked of at half-time honours even at 0-0. 

Al Kharaitiyat  picked up from where they left off in the first half and perhaps should of taken the lead a minute after the restart. A quickly taken short corner was whipped in  and found defender Mohamed Abdullah who had a free header which he knocked over the bar. 

The Thunders dominance continued and even had the ball in the back of the net on the fifty sixth minute, courtesy of Abdelmoula Berrabeh however it was disallowed by the referee as Kharaitiyat striker Jeremy Bokila was adjudged to have handled the ball in the build up. 

Bokila was amongst the action again as the tie teetered into the final fifteen minutes. A well worked pass from the lively Berrabeh fell into the path of the DR Congo international with the goal at his mercy. Unfortunately his shot flew well over the cross bar.

Against the run of play, Al Sailiya grabbed the only goal of the match in stunning circumstances. With seventy minutes on the clock, Camaroonian midfielder Raoul Loé unleashed a fine shot from outside the box which curled into the back of the net. Rightly so the tough tackling midfielder celebrated wildly much to the relief of head coach Sami Trabelsi. 

The Thunders desprately tried to claw their way back into the tie, however Al Sailiya shut out Al Kharaitiyat to register the vital three points.