Umm Salal players celebrate after scoring their wining goal against Al Sailiya during their QNB Stars League match played at Al Gharafa Stadium yesterday.
DOha: Umm Salal jumped above their QNB Stars League (QSL) rivals Al Sailiya, thanks to a hard-fought 1-0 victory at the Al Gharafa Stadium yesterday. Ivorian striker Yannick Sagbo found the net in the 33rd minute.
This was a tussle in the race for the fourth place and Al Sailiya had the brightest start, with Temurkhuja Abdukholiqov neatly controlling a pass before firing narrowly over from distance.
It was Umm Salal who scored first after Adil Rhaili was cynically brought down by Mostafa Abdelhamid 25 yards from the goal. Sagbo stepped up with confidence, struck the ball around the wall and into the top right corner.
Not long after the restart, Wagner Ribeiro nearly equalised in similar fashion. His free-kick was cutely struck across the face of the goal, but travelled marginally wide of the post.
Maher Yousef would have felt he doubled the lead with a header. But frustratingly for the Orange Fortress, he could not keep his shot inside the post.
The home side were able to hold on for victory and move to the fourth position on 27 points, while Al Sailiya remained on 25 points.
Earlier, Al Arabi secured an invaluable 2-1 victory at home to Al Kharaitiyat yesterday.
Al Arabi’s goals were scored by Khalfan Ibrahim in the 41st minute and Mohamed Al Hamed in the 84th, while Mahmoud Abdelhalim pulled one back for Al Kharaitiyat in the 88th.
Today, leaders Al Duhail will take on Al Khor while Al Markhiya locks horns against Wesley Sneijder-led Al Gharafa.
Al Duhail, who beat Umm Salal 5-0 in Week 17, have made it clear there would not be any let-up against Al Khor since their goal was to maintain an unbeaten streak en route to clinching the title and that they were preparing for this match with all the strength to achieve the win.
The Red Knights lead the table with 45 points, two more than second-placed Al Sadd. They were busy playing in the AFC Champions League as well and back-to-back wins, against Iran’s Zob Ahan and the UAE’s Al Wahda in Asia’s premier competition, have boosted their confidence.
All their players are ready for the Al Khor game, but the coaching staff may give opportunities to youngsters.
Al Duhail are benefiting from a healthy competition between their captain Youssef Msakni (18 goals) and top scorer Youssef El Arabi (21 goals).
Playmaker Nam Tae-Hee is also there in the list with 10 goals. Then, they have the likes of young Almoez Ali and Karim Boudiaf.
Al Khor, on 15 points, have a tough task on hand even though they are keen to collect points, especially after their 1-1 draw with Al Markhiya last week.
Al Duhail had won 4-2 in the first phase.
