Tribune News Network
Doha
Al Rayyan rallied from being two goals down to secure a vital 2-2 draw against Umm Salal in Week 17 of the Expo Stars League 2023-2024 season at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday.
Substitute Ahmed Al Rawi (59th minute) and Roger Guedes (90th + 4 minute) scored for Al Rayyan, while Kenji Gorre scored both of Umm Salal’s goals in the 27th and 55th minutes, respectively.
The result moved The Lions to 32 points and to third place in the standings, while Umm Salal are now sixth with 20 points.
The match began on a cautious note, with each team appearing to be sizing up their opponent before springing up with a surprise.
Umm Salal’s Lucas Joao almost had a go at goal in the 15th minute, but the Angolan international was stopped in his tracks after being flagged offside.
As expected, Al Rayyan were in dominant control of the game for most of the early minutes of the first half, but they were unable to convert their superior possession into a major advantage, with many scoring opportunities wasted.
While Al Rayyan missed their opportunities, Umm Salal, on the other hand, drew the first blood in the 27th minute through an overlapping Gorre, who ensured that a precise pass from Ali Afif was not wasted as he blasted home a right-footed low shot into the left hand corner of goalkeeper Fahad Younis goal.
Gingered by the goal, Umm Salal began to play more confidently as they gradually asserted themselves in the game while a desperate Al Rayyan sought to have the spoils shared going into the half-time break, but the scoreline remained unchanged as the match was brought to the expected pause.
Al Rayyan brought in Qatari striker Al Rawi in place of Ahmed Al Minhali at halftime in a bid to shore up their attack and get the needed equaliser but it was Umm Salal who doubled their lead in the 55th minute, once again through Gorre.
The Curacao international got on the end of Abdulrahman Faiz Al Rashidi’s diagonal cross, which was initially missed by Joao, and drove home a well-taken low-shot, again to the left-hand corner of Al Rayyan’s goal.
Four minutes later, Al Rayyan’s substitution paid off, with Al Rawi pulling one back for his team off a headed assist by Gabriel Pereira.
The goal gave The Lions a shot in the arm as they started pressing harder against the Barzan’s Falcons, who resorted to counter-attacks going forward.
Guedes could have restored parity in the 74th minute, but his glancing header went just inches wide, much to the relief of Umm Salal.
The match almost descended into a chaos in the 85th minute after a seemingly inoucuous challenge on Al Rawi, within the goal area of Umm Salal, led to a series of pushing and shoving that eventually necessitated a red card being awarded to Umm Salal’s Oussama Tannane for violent conduct.
Just when it seemed Umm Salal would be running away with the maximum points, Guedes made up for his earlier miss as he stepped up to the plate to equalise for his team in the four minutes of added time, assisted by Achraf Bencharki.
The goal was the last major event of the night, as the spoils ended up being evenly shared between the two gladiators.
Al Ahli upstage Qatar SC 3-1
In the other match of the day, two late goals saw Al Ahli beat Qatar SC 3-1 at the Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium of Qatar SC.
The highly absorbing contest saw The Brigadiers score through Julian Draxler (42nd minute), and Eissa El Nagar (90th minute) and Yazan Al Naimat (90+10 minute) against Qatar SC’s only goal which came from Javi Martinez in the 64th minute.
Their sixth win of the league fetched Al Ahli three more valuable points moving their tally to 19 points and consolidating their eighth place ranking while Qatar SC remained in tenth place with 13 points.
