The Peninsula
Omar Al Somah fired a brace as Al Arabi avenged their Ooredoo Cup semi-final defeat against Umm Salal with a 2-0 victory at the QNB Stars League (QSL) yesterday.
The Syrian striker scored goals in either halves as Younes Ali-coached side moved to 40 points, two points adrift of leaders Al Duhail.
Defending champions Al Sadd are third with 35 points.
Al Arabi who suffered a 2-1 defeat to Umm Salal after taking the lead in the Ooredoo Cup semi-final last month remained dominant throughout the match, keeping clean sheet against Talal El Karkouri’s side that too six shots on target in their Week 18 clash at Grand Hamad Stadium.
Al Somah scored his first goal in 32nd minute tapping the ball in from a close range after receiving a pass from Abdulla Nasser Almuraisi inside the box.
The striker then brilliantly volleyed a Rafinha’s cross over Umm Salal goalkeeper Samy Beldi in 75th minute to seal victory for Al Arabi.
After their 13th win of the season, the Dream Team will now meet Al Ahli in their Week 19 game on April 13 while Umm Salal face Al Markhiya on April 15.
Meanwhile, Al Shamal coach Wesam Rizik expressed his delight over a 1-0 victory over Al Ahli on Sunday night.
Amjad Attwan scored the winning goal as Al Shamal claimed three vital points in their quest to move away from the danger zone. They replaced Al Rayyan (16 points) on ninth place with a tally of 17 points.
“The team played with a lot of fighting spirit that made the difference in the match,” Rizik said in his post match comments.
“We were impressive in both the halves against a tough opposition. These three points against a big team are important. We could have won by a better margin as we missed many chances but I am overall satisfied with the team’s performance,” the coach added.
Rizik said his team was aiming for wins in all the remaining matches.
“All the remaining matches are like a final to us. We want to finish at a best possible place in the league,” he said.
Al Ahli created many chances in the match but failed to score a goal against Al Shamal against whom the Brigadiers took six shots on target.
Al Ahli coach Nebojsa Jovovic rued the missed chances in the match.
“Overall, we played a good match and created multiple opportunities but failed to score. We must work on this aspect ahead of the upcoming matches,” he said.
“Despite being reduced to 10 men we continued the aggressive play which is a positive sign,” Jovovic said while referring to a Hossein Kanaani red card in the 88th minute.