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Ayeni Olusegun
Doha
Umm Salal got off to a winning start under new head coach Talal el Karkouri as Maher Yousef's 92nd minute goal fired ten-man Barzan Hawks to a 2-1 comeback win against Al Khor in Round 16 of the QNB Stars League at Al Khor Stadium on Friday. At the end of a relatively balanced match, Al Khor remain in ninth position on the league table.
Umm Salal are level on points (24) with fourth-placed Al Sailiya but remain fifth on goal difference.
Al Khor had started on a promising note when Iranian midfielder Soroush Rafiei scored a goal-of-the-season contender just 15 minutes into the match.
Rafiei dribbled two defenders before unleashing a rising shot from about 25 yards into the top left corner of Baba Malick's post for his fourth league goal of the season.
Khor had the better of chances in the opening stages as Umm Salal players looked disorganised in the middle of the pack while new coach Talal el Kakouri shouted instructions from the touchline.
Madson's ambitious shot from 40 yards out was well wide off the mark as Khor continued to control proceedings.
Karkouri made a bold change just before the hour mark sending in Yanick Sagbo for the ineffective Dheyab Hassan. The change spurred the Barzan Hawks as Sagbo wasted no time in testing Al Khor's keeper Ababacar who parried out to safety.
However the Hawks were soon reduced to 10 men just before the end of the first half when Oussama Darraggi was shown a red card for a clumsy tackle.
A rejuvenated Umm Salal returned in the second half as Al Khor failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage. The Hawks soon got the equaliser nine minutes into the half. Defender Adil Rhaili headed home from close range after the Al Khor defence failed to deal with a corner kick, leaving the Moroccan unmarked for a simple header.
Al Khor had chances to put the game beyond Umm Salal but big striker Tuco was guilty of missing a string of opportunities. The Cameroonian who has just one goal this season hit a shot straight at Malick in goal before sending a header wide.
The Knights were made to pay for their wastefulness as Yousef fired home the winner in the 92nd minute. The Qatari midfielder was left unmarked in the box and benefited from a good wing play by Rami Fayez whose cutback found Yousef volley into the net for Karkouri's first win in his first league match.
Meanwhile, Qatar Sports Club beat Al Sailiya 2-0 earlier on Friday to move up one spot on the table. Osama Amari's double fired the struggling club back to winning ways against Trabelsi's men who were controversially reduced to 10 men after Majdi Siddiq was shown his second yellow card for an elbow in the face.
In Saturday's matches, bottom side Al Markhiya visit Al Kharaitiyat while Al Arabi host Al Khor at the Al Arabi Stadium.
