Duhail top four hopes dealt blow with draw against Markhiya

Al Duhail’s hopes of finishing in top four is fading fast after the defending champions were held to a goalless draw by bottom club Al Markhiya at the Expo Stars League on Tuesday.In other matches on Tuesday, Al Ahli rallied to hold Muaither to a 1-1 draw, while Ricardo Gomes’ hat-trick helped Al Shamal to a thrilling win over Umm Salal.At the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, Duhail, despite their best effort, could not force the issue against a rejuvenated Markhiya. Both sides had some good chances and Markhiya more so towards the end, but they too could break the deadlock.The Red Knights are fifth in the table with 9 points, nine behind fourth-placed Al Wakrah and a whopping 16 points behind leaders and arch rivals Al Sadd. Al Markhiya with the additional point moved to eight points and stay bottom.Immediately after the half-time (46th minute), Duhail had a heart-stopping moment when Khaled Mohamed, after receiving a back heel pass from Michael Olunga, made a telling long diagonal kick from outside the box, but the ball touched the fingertips of a diving Markhiya goalkeeper Oumar Barry before going on to hit the top corner of the right post.Later in the 81st minute, Duhail had a good move when Almoez Ali passed the ball to Philippe Coutinho, who provided a good assist to an incoming Isaac Lihadji, but he missed the target with the ball just missing the bottom right post.Markhiya too rued a double chance to strike in the 85th minute when substitute Muayed Hassan dashed into the box and struck from the right, but a flying Duhail goalkeeper Shehab Ellethy made a superb save with his outstretched right hand. The action continued as Markhiya again won the ball and it fell to Muayed in front of the goal, but his kick hit the crossbar and fell away.More chances came Markhiya’s way towards the end when in the 87th minute Yusupha Nije’s strike was cut off by Duhail goalkeeper.In the dying seconds of the seven minutes added time, an Al Duhail header from a corner kick sailed just over the crossbar and into the overhead net.Later at the Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium, Al Ahli not only had to battle hard and for long before overcoming a deficit after they conceded an own goal, but also had to survive some anxious moments towards the end.While Al Ahli’s under-21 player Eissa al-Nagar conceded an own goal in the 9th minute of the match, Julian Draxler scored a fabulous goal in the 87th minute to draw parity for his team against Muaither. Muiather, who now haven’t lost in their last three games of the league, almost gained a winner in stoppage time (90+2’) when Yazan al-Arab made a feeble attempt while being in the air but Al Ahli’s Jasem Mohamed made a frantic save with his head while standing right on the line at the goal.The result saw Al Ahli continue to be eighth in the standings with 16 points while Muaither moved up to 11 points but still being in the relegation zone in 11th place.