Al Wakrah Survive Al Arabi's Fightback To Win Thriller

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Al Wakrah edged Al Arabi 4-3 in a thrilling and eventful Qatar Stars League encounter at the Stadium 974 on Friday.
Al Arabi had almost drawn parity with a fourth goal but a VAR check found a player to be offside after a fabulous left-footed strike from Rodriguez Rodrigo in the third minute of stoppage time.
Earlier, Al Arabi's Marco Verratti received a red card in the 76th minute with a second yellow after he landed his spikes on the boot of Jacinto Dala, who was instrumental in three of the four Al Wakrah goals. The goal-scorers for Al Wakrah were Dala (6th minute), Aissa Laidouni (9th minute), Suhaib Gannan (50th minute) and Ricardo Gomes's 62nd minute penalty. For Al Arabi, Verratti (16th minute), Rodri (67th minute) and Youssef Msakni (74th minute) were on target.
Both teams had gone into the crucial clash on a slender one-point difference in the standings but while the result spurred Al Wakrah's tally to 17 points to be in 7th place, Al Arabi remained on 13 points but slid a rung to 10th spot.
Al Wakrah held a double-goal advantage twice in the game and Al Arabi hit back thrice before being left to rue the chance of finding the equaliser. The seven-goal thriller had the spectators delighted with its exciting moments.
The frenzy began early enough as Al Wakrah went up with a Dala header - which was first blocked by Al Arabi goalkeeper Jassim al-Hail but Dala got to the ball again on a ricochet to put it into the net. Dala was provided with a lobbed cross from inside the box by Ayoub Assal.
The Angolan Dala was back in the act again within three minutes as he set up Laidouni, just outside the box, to fire home Al Wakrah's second goal.
Al Arabi hit back soon as Rodriguez Rodrigo provided Verratti with a fine pass inside the box to shoot into the right corner.
The exciting goal-scoring action continued in the second half as Dala put through a fine ball while on charge for Gannan to go ahead and beat Al Arabi's Abdou Diallo and advancing al-Hail and The Blue Wave went up 3-1. The challenge became increasingly difficult for The Dream Team when just before the hour mark Diallo brought down Assal with a push from behind, inside the danger area and the referee after a VAR called for a penalty. Gomes scored from the spot. Al Arabi stepped up their attack in response and were rewarded with their second goal as Isaac Lihadji moved a pass back to a rushing in Rodri to find the right corner of the net with his left foot strike.
Star striker Msakni brought up Al Arabi's third goal with a superb header (from a Rodri assist) that hit the crossbar before going in (3-4). Matters for Al Arabi however became worse for Al Arabi when Verratti landed his spikes on Dala's foot during a tackle and the referee flashed the former with a second yellow card, signalling his suspension. In the end, Rodri's spectacular kick, following Ahmed Fathi's effort to pick on a defence lapse and relay the ball, delighted both the team and the fans alike but the joy was short-lived as the referee took a VAR and Alaaeddin Hassan, who came in as a substitute for Diallo in the 87th minute, was found to be off-side.
Bounedjah bags brace as Shamal beat Umm Salal
Earlier, Baghdad Bounedjah netted a brace as Al Shamal defeated Umm Salal 4-0 at the Al Khor Stadium. Bounedjah (12th-minute penalty and 45+2 minute), Naim Sliti (26th minute) and Younes Belhanda (50th-minute penalty) scored to help Al Shamal move on to 19 points. Umm Salal remained on 14 points.
Al Shamal gave an inkling of what to expect from them as early as the fourth minute of play when Belhanda tested the reflexes of goalkeeper Louay Ashour with a stinging shot from 25 yards out, but the shot-stopper was up to the task as he rose gallantly to deny what was a goal-bound attempt. Four minutes later, Al Shamal got the opportunity they had been looking for after Umm Salal's Edidiong Essien fouled Belhanda in the 18-yard box and the resultant spot-kick, awarded after a lengthy VAR check, was unmistakably converted by Bounedjah in the 12th minute to give the hosts the lead.
Umm Salal almost got their equalizer immediately, but Antonio Mance's right-footed shot from the right side of the box from an assist by Naim Laidouni narrowly missed to the left of the goal.
Just when it seemed Umm Salal were on the ascendency, Al Shamal once again changed the narrative in the 26th minute with Sliti scoring a brilliant goal, chipping the goalie following a fast break, to make it two exciting goals for coach David Prat's men. Bounedjah got his second of the evening, and Al Shamal's third, a minute into added time when a diagonal pass by Sliti met the Algerian international striker in an unmarked position. He wasted no time in firing home a left-footed shot that went right past the outstretched arms of Ashour, ensuring a very comfortable lead going into half-time.
Shamal continued from where they stopped in the second half with Mohammed al-Mannai drawing a foul, conceded by Victor Lekhal, which Belhanda converted to give Shamal an unassailable 4-0 lead.

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