Al-Duhail took the lead in the Qatar Football League (QNB Stars League) after defeating Umm Salal with two goals to one, in the meeting that brought them together today at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in the twentieth round. With this victory, Al-Duhail raised its tally to 48 points, widening the difference to five points from its closest pursuers, benefiting from the loss of Al-Arabi, who finished in second place, against Al-Wakra with two goals to one today, to come close to winning the title absent from its coffers in the past two seasons. On the other hand, Umm Salal’s balance was frozen at point 16 in the penultimate position, leading to the play-off match for the relegation play-off for the second degree. Al-Duhail’s Kenyan goals were scored by Michael Olonga in the 45 + 3 minutes from a penalty kick and 64 minutes, while the only goal for Umm Salal was Moroccan Adel Al-Rehaili in the 45 + 4 minutes. Despite the control imposed by Al-Duhail through possession of the ball most of the time, the offensive solutions remained absent in light of the defensive solidity of the Umm Salal players by closing the back areas, then launching counter-attacks through quick transformations that posed some danger to Al-Duhail’s goal. Al-Duhail’s attempts were limited to individual jurisprudence by Al-Moez Ali, who penetrated and hit a ball over the cross in the 19th minute, while the defense intervened to remove Kenyan Michael Olonga’s ball, while Brazilian Vinicius Arojo missed an opportunity for Umm Salal from a counterattack, when Abdul Rahman Al-Rashidi’s pass reached him. However, goalkeeper Shehab Al-Laithi saved the situation in the 30th minute. The events of the last minutes of the first half were exciting, as Al-Duhail advanced through a penalty kick won by Tunisian Ferjani Sassi after a mistake by Moroccan defender Adel Al-Rahili, so that Olonga executed the kick successfully 45 + 2, however, Umm Salal He responded quickly through Adel Al-Rehaili’s header, taking advantage of a corner ball, scoring the equalizer in the 45 + 4 minute, before goalkeeper Shihab Al-Laithi saved Al-Duhail’s goal from an accomplished goal after a Jordanian Yassin Al-Bakhit shot, so the first half ended with a 1-1 draw. Umm Salal started the second half in an ideal way, and the Serbian Alexa Vukanovic almost scored when he hit a powerful ball from inside the area, which bounced off the post in the 48th minute, before Al Duhail regained the advantage, so Tunisian Ferjani Sassi responded to Umm Salal’s threat in the same way, with a header that bounced off the post in the 60th minute. Before Michael Olonga scored the second goal, taking advantage of Al-Moez Ali’s rebound shot from the goalkeeper, and scored the net in the 64th minute. Umm Salal pressed to return to the match, while Al-Duhail dealt with the situation with great intelligence through defensive balance and relying on counter-attacks that almost resulted in a goal. A third, when Al-Moez penetrated and hit a powerful ball that bounced off the bottom of the post in the 83rd minute.. The last minutes passed without anything new, so Al-Duhail came out with a valuable victory, close to clinching the title.
In a second match, Al-Sailiya team maintained its hopes of staying and avoiding bidding farewell to the Qatari Football League of Lights (QNB Stars League), after its victory over its host Al-Ahly (4-0) this evening, in the match that took place between them at Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium. Within the framework of the twentieth round matches. The Argentine Sergio Vitor took turns scoring the four goals (34 minutes), the Swedish Carlos Strandberg in the two minutes (61, 85), and Hassan Palenque in the minute (90 + 2). Al-Sailiya, with its third victory in the competition, compared to 4 draws and 13 defeats, raised its score to 13 points in the twelfth and last place, with a difference of 3 points behind Umm Salal eleventh, and 4 points behind Al Shamal tenth and Al Rayyan ninth, two stages before the end of the competition. In its next two matches, in the twenty-first round against Al-Markhiya, and the twenty-second and final round with Al-Wakra, Al-Sailiya needs to win with one of the three teams faltering. "Umm Salal, North and Al Rayyan" Which compete in the relegation zone in order to ensure survival in the competition next season. On the other hand, Al-Ahly continued its poor results in the competition after failing to win the sixth match in a row, as it suffered a fifth consecutive defeat against a draw in the last six weeks, to freeze its score at 21 points in seventh place. The first half was mediocre on the part of the two teams, with an offensive advantage for Al-Ahly, who had the most attempts on the goal, as the right post saved a goal achieved in the (11th) minute after a cross from the Algerian Sufyan Hani, met by the Jordanian Yazan Al-Naimat directly, to bounce off the right post and did not find the follower. On the other hand, it was the first offensive appearance of Al-Sailiya through the Swedish Carlos Strandberg’s shot, which passed over the crossbar in the 19th minute. And the preference was condemned for Al-Ahly with the passage of time, as Claude Amin, the Al-Sailiya goalkeeper, shone and saved the opportunity for a goal for Al-Ahly from an organized attack from the left side through Sufian Hani, who sent a beautiful cross ball that Yazan Al-Naimat received inside the penalty area and hit it powerfully, which was blocked by the goalkeeper (30). Contrary to the course of the match, Argentine Sergio Vitor, Al Sailiya defender, fired a powerful shell that settled to the left of Al-Ahly’s goalkeeper, scoring the goal of progress for his team in the 34th minute. In the second half, Al-Ahly tried to equalize the score, but its player Yazan Al-Naimat was expelled in the 59th minute after receiving the second warning. He quickly contributed to the team receiving a second goal after Moroccan Ismail Khafi extracted the ball from Al-Ahly’s defense in a dangerous area, and passed a beautiful cross that Strandberg met in the Goal, scoring his team’s second goal (61). Al-Naimat was sent off, and the second goal decided the match clinically for Salah Al-Sailiya, who dominated the course of the game. On the other hand, Al-Ahly’s attempts were individual and did not pose a danger to Al-Sailiya’s goal, with the exception of Mohsen Al-Yazidi’s shot that bounced off the right post (65), while Al-Sailiya missed more than one chance for a goal. To consolidate his progress, Ismail Khafi’s shot bounced off the crossbar in the 70th minute. In the last minutes of the match, Al-Sailiya doubled the score with two consecutive goals, the first scored by Strandberg, scoring his second goal and the third for his team in the match (85), and the second scored by Hassan Palenk in the minute (90 + 2) from a counterattack from the right side, to bring the team three valuable points. He maintained his chances of staying in the league championship during the next season.
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