Al Sadd's captain Hassan Al Haydos congratulates Akram Afif after the latter scored their first goal.
Doha, Qatar: Substitute Yousuf Abdurisag scored the stoppage-time winner as Al Sadd came from behind to beat spirited Al Markhiya 2-1 and regain their lead at the top of Expo Stars League (ESL) standings. Late goals by Roger Guedes handed Al Rayyan a 2-0 victory over defending champions Al Duhail in other match last night.
Al Rayyan's Roger Guedes kicks the ball.
Al Sadd reclaimed their three points lead over Al Gharafa by taking their tally to 43 points after the Cheetahs went level with the Wolves with a 1-0 win over Al Arabi on Saturday night.
The 16-time champions had to work hard for a win against bottom side Al Markhiya despite controlling the match at the Grand Hamad Stadium. Al Sadd had enjoyed 70 percent of ball possession and made numerous attempts in the entire game.
They were aggressive right from the word go but had to enter the break with a deficit after Paulo Otavio inadvertently put the ball into his own net in 26th minute while trying to stop Ali Said Al Muhannadi from scoring.
The Wolves had almost complete domination in the first half with Al Markhiya doing well to thwart multiple attempts including four shots on target in the opening session.
Al Sadd, however, managed to level the scores with in-form Akram Afif scoring his 22nd goal of the ESL season from the spot in the 67th minute after Gonzalo Plata was brought down inside the box by Mouhamadou Naby Sarr.
Abdurisag then propelled Wesam Rizik’s side to victory in seventh minute of stoppage time, scoring the winner from a close range after Baghdad Bounedjah’s attempt was blocked following a corner.
At Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Al Duhail started on a bright note and Michael Olunga thought he had put Al Duhail into lead with a header following a corner in 23rd minute but the goal was ruled out after the striker was found offside in the process.
The Kenyan star again came close to scoring but his rising header hit the bar as Al Duhail dominated ball possession in the first half making several attempts.
The stalemate persisted until Guedes fired the opener from the left side of the box after a fine assist from Achraf Bencharki in 80th minute.
The Brazilian sealed victory six minutes later, this time with a perfect execution from the right after an assist from Gabriel Pereira, taking his tally to 17 goals this season.
Sitting comfortably on fourth position with 35 points, Al Rayyan are now just two points behind third-placed Al Wakrah while Al Duhail stayed on sixth spot – trailing Al Arabi by one point – after their eighth loss of the season.
Meanwhile, Al Wakrah coach Jose Murcia hailed his side that fought back to thrash Qatar SC 5-1 on Saturday night.
Gelson Dala and captain Mohamed Benyettou scored a brace apiece after Ayoub Assal leveled Yohan Boli’s goal for Qatar SC.
“We missed chances in the start but did well in the second half to earn three coveted points with a big victory,” said Murcia.
“It’s a good victory and I am happy with the determination of team members to finish the season with a best position,” he added.
