Leaders Al Duhail scored two goals in the stoppage time to hold arch rivals Al Sadd to a sensational 2-2 draw in the QNB Stars League on Sunday. It was a dramatic ending to the most high-profile match of the league at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, as the home fans were left stunned after a stunning fight back from Duhail.
Defending champions Sadd led through Baghdad Bounedjah (34th minute) and Santi Cazorla (57th minute) but Duhail’s remarkable turnaround came after Nam Tae-hee pulled a goal back in the sixth minute of stoppage time, before Fernandez Federico equalised two minutes later. After 15 matches, Duhail are ahead of second-placed Al Arabi by five points. Sadd are third, two points behind Arabi.
The Wolves held sway for almost the entire length of the match while Duhail seemed to be running out of luck with some of their crucial hits missing the target. But with minutes to go, the Red Knights gathered pace and momentum to catch their rivals off guard.
Duhail’s first goal was a top shot drive from outside the box from the South Korean attacking midfielder Nam Tae-hee which flew diagonally into the far top right corner of the net. The Red Knights again caught their rivals by surprise with Mohamed Musa essaying a perfect kick from the right about 20 yards off the box which went in front of the goal and an unmarked Federico lunged forward to make a superb header for the second goal. Such was the shock and awe of the act that it took a few seconds before the fans threw themselves up in delight.
Earlier, in the 82nd minute a Nam Tae-hee kick had hit the crossbar and fallen just out and Duhail were left cursing their luck with many of their attempts failing. In the end, however, they did get their act right and superbly.
In contrast, Sadd seemed not to put a foot wrong when Bounedjah first rushed ahead to score off a Cazorla assist from a long distance in the first half and later soon in the second half Cazorla made the most of a Pedro Miguel cross from the right.
This was Al Sadd’s only second draw of the league so far. They have 9 wins and 5 losses. For Al Duhail, this was their third tie result so far besides 11 wins and a solitary defeat.
Earlier at the same venue, Al Rayyan rallied to hold fourth-placed Al Wakrah 1-1 in an absorbing match.
Jacinto Dala provided the opening goal of the match for Wakrah in the 82nd minute before Rayyan hit back to equalise through their star Yohan Boli in the 89th minute.
The solitary point gain saw Wakrah move to 24 points from 16 matches, while tenth-placed Rayyan took their tally to 13 points from 15 matches.
Meanwhile, Al Markhiya scored a valuable 3-1 win over Al Sailiya at the Al Arabi Stadium. Al Sailiya surged ahead through Sergio Carlos in the 11th minute, but Al Markhiya bounced back and replied through Driss Fettouhi (38th minute), Jameel al-Yahmadi (67th minute) and Jose Correia (89th minute).
Al Markhiya are eight with 18 points, while bottom-placed Al Sailiya have points.