Youssef Msakni scored a stoppage time goal as Al Arabi held Al Ahli to a thrilling 3-3 draw in the Ooredoo Stars League at the Al Thumama Stadium yesterday.
Julian Draxler scored a brace for Ahli in the 76th and 90th minutes after Oumar Sekou had given them an early lead from the spot in the ninth minute. Arabi, who are yet to register a win in the season, got their goals through Ahmed Alaa (39th minute, penalty) and (65th minute), with Msakni finding the net in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Al Ahli stayed second four points behind leaders Al Duhail with 11 points, while Arabi are ninth with four points. The match started on cautious notes for both sides until the eight minute, when the situation changed in favour of Al Ahli after they were awarded a penalty for an infringement on Draxler by goalkeeper Jassim al-Hail in a goal-bound situation.
The eventual spot kick was coolly converted by Omar Sekou to give The Brigadiers an early lead in the ninth minute. Undaunted by the deficit, the Dream Team continued to press forward in search of an equaliser but despite having several opportunities, they, however, could not convert them, with the forwards guilty of profilgacy in front of goals.
Al Ahli had another call for a penalty kick in the 27th minute for a foul on Abdelrahman Moustafa, but the decision was, however, rescinded after a lengthy VAR check. By the 37th minute, it was the turn of Al Arabi to get a penalty of their own after Al Ahli’s Matej Mitrovic was adjudged to have fouled Alaa inside the box. The VAR check, this time around, was in favour of Al Arabi, and Alaa stood up to brilliantly convert the spot kick in the 39th minute to restore parity for his side.
Al Ahli appeared the more determined of the two sides coming into the second half, as they appeared determined on restoring their lead as early as possible, but Al Arabi’s strong defensive lineup put paid to that. The Brigadiers had a close shave at getting the needed goal in the 60th minute after Sekou was put through by Idrissa Doumbin, but goalkeeper al-Hail perfectly read the moves and quickly came off his line to block the attempt.
Five minutes later, Al Arabi took the lead through Alaa, who finished off a Marco Verratti sublime pass with a superb left-footed shot after fanciful legwork, to bring the much-awaited relief to their supportive fans.
With Al Arabi appearing to be cruising to their first win of the season, the situation, however, dramatically changed in the 76th minute, with Draxler waltzing his way past a couple of Al Arabi legs before confidently slotting home to make it 2-2 for his side.
Not satisfied with sharing the spoils, The Brigadiers went for an outright win just at the end of regulation time, with Draxler getting his brace of the night – finishing off a long pass by Driss Fettouhi to break Al Arabi’s heart.
The highly entertaining encounter eventually ended with Al Arabi getting the equaliser with seconds left to the added time with Msakni firing home a blaster of a shot inside the box, which caught the hapless goalkeeper Marwan Badreldin napping.
Earlier, Goalkeeper Mohammed al-Bakri was the hero of the night as Al Wakrah defeated Al Rayyan 2-0 at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.
The Al Wakrah shot stopper made a series of daring saves as Jacinto Dala (seventh minute) and Ricardo Gomes (36th minute) secured the needed goals to move The Blue Wave to eight points in the standings, while Al Rayyan remained on six points.
Meanwhile, Al Gharafa secured a 3-1 win over Qatar at Khalifa International Stadium. Ahmed al-Ganehi scored Gharafa’s first goal in the 10th minute, before Yacine Brahimi added a second in the 30th minute. Sebastian Soria pulled a goal back for Qatar SC in the 42nd minute.
In the second half, Qatar SC tried to get back into the game, but Gharafa scored again through Joselu in the 72nd minute. Gharafa are now in fourth place, while Qatar SC are at 11th and penultimate place.