Ten men of Lekhwiya leave it late to share the points with Al Rayyan

The ten men of Lekhwiya scored deep in second-half stoppage time to secure a 2-2 draw against reigning QSL champions Al Rayyan in an exciting matchup at the Lekhwiya Stadium on Sunday evening. 

Rodrigo Tabata drew first blood for The Lions as he converted the spot kick before Luiz Martin equalised for the Cops towards the end of the first half. The second half saw an amazing solo goal from Al Rayyan’s Abdulrahman Al Harazi. Lekhwiya where down to ten men when defender Mohammed Tresor was given a second yellow, and Djamel Belmadi’s side showed plenty of spirit to find a last gasp equalizer though Moroccan attacker Yusef El Arabi. 

Al Rayyan opened the scoring from a converted spot kick in the thirty-second minute. Mohammed Tresor of Lekhwiya brought down Sergio Garcia after Tabata sent a ball over to Garcia. Last season’s top scorer Rodrigo Tabata stepped up for the penalty and sent the ball into the bottom left corner.

Sergio Garcia had a chance to double al Rayyan's lead in the 36th minute but his overhead kick was blocked by Chico Flores on the goal line.

Towards the end of the first half, Yousef Al Arabi drove the ball inside the Al Rayyan Box and passed the ball to Ismail Mohammed who guided it into the path of Luiz Martin, who scored after hitting the ball first time. Martin hit the ball low and hard into the far corner to level the score line ion the stroke of half-time.

The first half was a tactical encounter with both sides looking to score while limiting the opponents attacking threat. Lekhwiya had an advantage in terms of possession and shots on target but Al Rayyan was the more clinical side forcing mistakes from their opponents and making their chances count. The half ended with both sides level pegging with one goal each.



Al Rayyan regained their advantage in the fifty-ninth minute after a spectacular solo goal from Abdulrahman Al Harazi. The young Qatari midfielder intercepted a cross on the half way line and then sprinted towards the goal evading two defenders before sending the ball into the goal past Lekhwiya keeper, Amine Lecomte.

Mohammed Tresor received a red card in the sixty-ninth minute for decent. The twenty-nine-year-old defender had a very disappointing game as he gave away a penalty in the first half and received a second yellow in the second half to leave his side playing with ten men against the champions.

Djamel Belmadi’s side showed their fighting spirit as they scored deep into the second half stoppage time. Yousef Al Arabi got his name on the scoresheet for the eighth time this season as he was in the right place at the right time and ensured a point for his side. Nam Tae Hee sent a cross towards Ismaeel Mohammed, who’s headed effort came off the post into the path of Al Arabi who tapped it home to end the game at 2-2.

The result means that both teams gain a point each and remain in the same positions in the table. Al Rayyan now have thirteen points from seven games and sit in at fourth while Lekhwiya are two points ahead of them and sit third in the QSL table.