2021-22 QNB Stars League Week 2 highlights
The Al Shamal versus Al Sailiya match, which ended 3-2 in favour of last season's ninth-place finisher Al Sailiya, was the highest-scoring fixture of Week 2 of the 2021-2022 season QNB Stars League.
In all, a total of 17 goals were recorded in the matches played at two venues - Khalifa International and Al Gharafa Stadiums - on Thursday, September 16 and Friday, September 17, 2021.
Two matches ended in draws - Al Wakrah against Al Rayyan and Umm Salal versus Al Khor.
Defending champions Al Sadd, last season's runners-up Al Duhail and Al Gharafa are all enjoying a perfect start, having won all the two matches played so far.
Al Duhail and Al Sadd jointly shared the leadership position in the standings, with both having a +4 goal-difference while Al Gharafa is third with a +3 goal difference.
Newly promoted Al Shamal is currently languishing at the bottom of the table, having lost their two matches and a -3 goal-difference.
Below are the highlights and results:
Match: Al Ahli 0 vs Al Gharafa 1
Date: Friday, September 17, 2021
Venue: Al Gharafa Stadium
Al Gharafa beat Al Ahli 1-0 through a late goal at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Friday.
Sofiane Hanni (85th-minute penalty) netted the winner as Al Gharafa registered their second successive victory, having beaten Al Shamal 2-0 in their opener. Al Ahli had played out a goalless draw with Qatar SC in their season-opening game.
Both teams adopted a cautious approach from the start, even though Al Gharafa had more possession in both halves. Al Gharafa attacked more through the wings, forcing five corner kicks against Al Ahli's one in the first half.
Al Gharafa's Homam Al Ameen came up with a thumping long-ranger in the 13th minute, only to be thwarted by Al Ahli goalkeeper Ivanildo Rodrigues with a superb dive. Al Ahli had a 66th-minute goal scored by Ali Qaderi, who had just come in as a substitute, disallowed. This season's captain for the Brigadiers' got possession of the ball in between an exchange between Al Gharafa goalkeeper Yousef Hassan and Almahdi. But referee Yousef Al Sharshani ruled it out after referring to VAR as Al Ahli substitute Naveed Mohammed had fouled Almahdi in the process.
As the match headed for a draw came the decisive moment. Al Ahli's Naveed tripped Homam in front of the goal, and Sofiane was bang on target from the penalty spot.
Match: Al Wakrah 1 vs Al Rayyan 1
Date: Friday, September 17, 2021
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium
Al Wakrah and Al Rayyan shared points following a pulsating 1-1 draw at the Khalifa International Stadium on Friday.
Nasser Al Yazidi (43rd minute) scored for Al Wakrah, while Al Rayyan managed to equalize through substitute Tameem Mansour Al Abdullah in stoppage time (90+2), much to the delight of French coach Laurent Blanc.
After the final whistle, a beaming Blanc hugged his Al Wakrah counterpart, Marquez Lopez. This was the second successive draw for Al Rayyan, who were held 2-2 by Umm Salal in Week 1, whereas Al Wakrah had lost 0-1 to Al Arabi.
Close to the half-time whistle, Al Wakrah's Al Yazidi missed a shot at goal but soon afterwards made up for it by finding the net. After a goalmouth melee, he aimed for the goal from close range, and the ball went in off a deflection.
In the 68th minute, Al Rayyan's Yohan Boli aimed at the goal from close range, but the Al Wakrah custodian blocked the shot with a move.
Al Wakrah's Khaled Muneer also missed a similar close-range shot in the 77th minute.
However, Tameem saved Al Rayyan's blushes deep into the game by deflecting a cross from Khaled Muftah into the net from close range.
Match: Umm Salal 1 vs Al Khor 1
Date: Friday, September 17, 2021
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium
Umm Salal and Al Khor shared the points with a 1-1 draw at the Khalifa International Stadium on Friday.
Ali Ferydoon (32nd minute) opened the scoring for Umm Salal. Al Khor fought back with a goal through Said Brahimi in the 70th minute.
After a few feisty exchanges, Umm Salal made their first attack on the Al Khor goal in the 10th minute. Yasin Al Bakhit charged into the box with a solo run moving in from the flank and produced a shot that Al Khor keeper Baba Djibril blocked. Ferydoon, standing nearby, had the time and the space to flick a loose ball into the net, but he ended up sending the ball past the crossbar from close range.
Umm Salal opened the scoring through a one-two by Bakhit and Ferydoon. Bakhit covered a lot of ground, working his way into the box from the left flank before chipping the ball towards an unmarked Ferydoon. Using a short jump, Ferydoon flicked the ball into the net from close range.
Al Khor equalized when Ahmad Hassan Al Mohannadi picked Brahimi with a short cross from outside the box. Brahimi anticipated the cross, hoodwinked a couple of defenders shadowing him and sent the ball crashing into the net with a right-footed shot.
Match: Al Arabi 1 vs Al Duhail 2
Date: Thursday, September 16, 2021
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium
Al Duhail defeated Al Arabi 2-1 at the Khalifa International Stadium on Thursday.
Al Duhail rode on a brace from young player Rabeh Yahya (53rd and 66th minutes) to keep their bid to regain the league shield on track. The Red Knights had beaten Al Khor 4-1 in their opener.
Substitute Abdulqadir Ilyas pulled one back (90+4) for Al Arabi, who had defeated Al Wakrah 1-0 in Week 1.
Al Arabi tried to surprise Al Duhail in the opening minutes, but Al Duhail were quickly in control and forced Al Arabi to play second fiddle. Al Duhail's offensive superiority saw Al Arabi goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada being forced to make some brilliant saves. Edmilson Junior was the livewire in Al Duhail ranks.
Al Duhail continued to press in the second half. Edmilson had his header saved by the goalkeeper in the 50th minute, but Al Duhail soon went ahead, capitalizing on a mistake.
Ismail Mohammed passed the ball to Rabeh, and the latter found the net. Edmilson gave the pass for the second goal, and Rabeh fired the ball into the net.
Al Arabi started attacking more, and coach Younes Ali pushed lanky striker Ilyas, who managed to help his team reduce the margin of defeat deep into stoppage time.
Match: Al Shamal 2 vs Al Sailiya 3
Date: Thursday, September 16, 2021
Venue: Al Gharafa Stadium
Al Sailiya twice came from behind to beat Al Shamal 3-2 at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Thursday.
Valentin Adama (22nd minute), Driss Fettouhi (70th minute), and substitute Mohammed Mudather (73rd minute) scored for Al Sailiya. Nasser Al Nasr (seventh minute) and captain Baha Faisal (38th-minute penalty) scored for Al Shamal.
Both teams had lost their openers, Al Shamal to Al Gharafa and Al Sailiya to champions Al Sadd, so they showed determination and played eagerly to collect the full points from the beginning.
Al Nasr gave Al Shamal, who are back in the First Division after six seasons, an early lead by scoring off an Ali Awad pass from the left. Al Sailiya levelled the score through Adama, with Ramin Rezaein giving the cross from the right. Al Shamal's Yasin Yacoub failed to clear the ball, and Adama only had to connect the ball into the net.
Al Shamal went ahead for a second time when Baha converted a penalty awarded after Al Sailiya's Ali Jasemi fouled Al Nasr.
Al Sailiya showed more purpose in their attacks in the second half and were rewarded with two quick goals.
First, Fettouhi's long-ranger, after Mbodji gave him the pass, went in off a deflection. Then, Mudather's beaming shot from long-range beat Al Shamal goalkeeper Hassan Idriss, hands down.
Match: Qatar SC 1 vs Al Sadd 3
Date: Thursday, September 16, 2021
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium
Al Sadd fought back from a goal deficit to beat Qatar SC 3-1 at the Khalifa International Stadium on Thursday.
Sebastian Soria (39th minute) opened the scoring for Qatar SC, but Al Sadd fought back with goals from Andre Ayew (63rd minute), Guilherme Torres (78th minute) and Baghdad Bounedjah (83rd minute).
Soria made it 1-0 for Qatar SC following a solo run. After receiving a long cross from the left flank by Mbenza, Soria charged towards the Al Sadd goal, with Jung Woo-Young giving him a hot chase. As Soria neared the goalmouth, Al Sadd keeper Meshaal Barsham stepped out to block the move, but the former lobbed the ball over his head to give his side the lead in the 39th minute.
A snap-header from two metres by Bounedjah missed the target in the 57th minute. Six minutes later, Al Sadd produced a spectacular equalizer through Ayew, who beat two markers in front of him on the edge of the box to find the net. He unleashed a powerful left-footed drive that hit the net, with a dive from keeper Al Hail going in vain.
Al Sadd grabbed the lead in a similar fashion when an unmarked Torres – after a short cross from Afif - positioned himself on the edge of the box and then produced a powerful shot that sailed past to the left of the goalkeeper.
Bounedjah added the third with a snap-header from close range, following a lob from substitute Hassan Al Haydous.
The QNB QSL Week 3 round of matches will be played on Tuesday, September 21 and Wednesday, September 22, 2021.
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