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Tribune News NetworkDohaAl Shamal rode on substitute Mohamed El Sayed’s 86th minute goal to beat Al Rayyan 1-0 in the final match of Week 1 of the QNB Stars League new 2022-23 season at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Wednesday.The first half was goalless but saw some exciting moments including a VAR Check penalty to Al Rayyan in the 40th minute which was later cancelled by the referee Abdulla Ali Athba after re-confirming with the officials.The VAR Check was a resultant after Tameem Mansour of Al Rayyan was checked by Landre Loick of Al Shamal just on the edge of the box but as it seemed outside the line. Yohan Boli had stepped up to take the spot kick but the referee called it off and rightly so.In the 46th minute, Abdelaziz Mitwali of Al Shamal was flashed with a yellow card for his wrong tackle against a charging Boli.In the 61st minute, Al Rayyan’s French star Steven Nzonzi’s header was well held by the rival goalkeeper Babacar Seck.Soon, Al Rayyan’s Ahmed Yasser was hamstrung while moving in menacingly inside the box. He was substituted by Khalid Muftah.In the 73rd minute, Matias Nani’s header was stopped from going in by goalkeeper Seck who stretched to his right to make the save.The winning moment for Al Shamal arrived when after a fine move Mohamed El Sayed (nicknamed Jedoo) safely sent the ball into the goal.Al Rayyan tried hard in the dying minutes and one potential strike of Boli was well headed off by Ali Olwan of Al Shamal to ensure valuable three points for the team.Al Shamal’s Moroccan coach Hicham Zahid was delighted with his team’s opening win. “We are happy with the victory over Al Rayyan and we always strive for the best. We achieved a valuable victory at the expense of a great team, and I hope that this will motivate us in the coming period of the league,” he said.
