(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
The Peninsula
Doha: The 11th round of the QNB Stars League (QSL) provided thrills and scares for some teams, as the competition reached the halfway mark.
As many as 17 goals were scored during the two days. There was a high-scoring match and two games ended in draws. All teams, except Al Sailiya and Al Khor, scored goals.
Al Sadd continued to top the table with 29 points despite being held to a 1-1 draw by high-flying Qatar SC.
Al Sadd defender Abdelkarim Hassan said his side's 1-1 draw reflected the difficulty of the game.
Speaking to the media after the game, Abdelkarim said: 'It was a hard-fought and difficult match for both teams. We tried to take the lead, but Qatar played in an organised manner and were strong defensively, and we couldn't score the second goal after equalising. In general, both teams did well.
As for going up against Qatar's attacker Youcef Belaili, he said: 'Everyone saw the style of play that we relied on, as well as how Qatar played, so we had to close all opening in front of Qatar's attack, especially for Youcef Belaili, and we succeeded in achieving that, the former AFC Player of the Year said.
The result, after a keenly-fought encounter between two in-form teams, helped The Kings storm into the top-four, from fifth place, with 19 points.
Reigning champions Al Duhail improved from fourth to third place with 21 points following their 5-3 victory over Al Ahli in a high-scoring thriller. It was The Red Knights' seventh victory and it also helped them close the gap with leaders Al Sadd from 10 points to eight.
Qatar SC and Al Ahli are tied on 19 points, but the former were placed fourth on better goal difference (+8 compared to Al Ahli's -5). The Brigadiers thus slipped from third to fifth place.
Al Gharafa (22 points) kept their second place intact even though they were held 1-1 by Umm Salal, who continued their good performance. The Orange Fortress, however, remained 10th in the table with 10 points.
Al Rayyan remained in sixth spot with 16 points even after defeating Al Khor 1-0. It was The Lions' fourth victory, whereas The Knights crashed to their sixth loss, but remained 11th with seven points.
Al Arabi got back to winning ways following their 1-0 win over Al Sailiya, their third overall. The Dream Team, despite the victory, stood in ninth position with 12 points, while The Peregrines slipped from seventh to eighth place with 12 points.
Both Al Sailiya and Al Arabi have the same number of points, but the former were placed above on better goal difference (-6 as against the latter's -7).
Al Wakrah improved from eighth to seventh rank with 13 points as they beat Al Kharaitiyat 2-1 to register their fourth victory. The Thunders remained the basement side with six points after suffering their ninth defeat, the most by any team.
The Round 12 action will begin on January 2, 2021. The Qatar Stars League yesterday announced the schedule for the League matches of the 13th and 14th rounds, adding that the kick-off times and venues have been finalised in co-ordination with the authorities concerned. The remaining weeks' schedule will be finalised later after taking into account the 2021 AFC Champions League calendar, QSL announced yesterday.
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