Brilliant Al Sailiya climb to 4th spot

Al Sailiya snatched fourth spot at the QNB Stars League (QSL) points standings from Umm Salal after  imposing a thrilling 3-2 victory over their counterparts in their Round 7 game at Al Ahli Stadium yesterday.

With the victory, Al Sailiya leapfrogged to fourth position in the points standings with 15 points, pushing Umm Salal (13 points) to fifth position. Al Duhail, Al Rayyan and Al Sadd respectively occupy the first three positions.

Brazilian Wagner Renan Ribeiro scored a brace within a span of eight minutes in crucial stage of the match to turn out Al Sailiya as eventual winners. The  sea-saw battle witnessed stiff action from both the sides.

Al Sailiya started the match strongly and took lead before Umm Salal scored twice to turn the match in their favour.

Abdulkarem Al Ali opened up the scoring in 36th minute with a clinical left footer from a fair distance as Al Sailiya took the lead which they retained till the breather.

Umm Salal levelled the score through Youcef Sekour who executed a brilliant goal from a header in the 48th minute corner. The goal lifted Umm Salal and their repeated attacks culminated in another goal with Mahmoud Kamal finding the cage this time, just eight minutes later.

Al Sailiya, though, held their nerves after conceding two quick goals and soon took control of the match back.

Their repeated attacks in the 79th minute earned them a penalty and Ribeiro was lucky enough to get goalie’s rebound after the first attempt, and he made no mistake the second time to secure a leveller for his side.

Seven minutes later, Ribeiro struck another goal to secure a 3-2 lead. Umm Salal made various attempts in the next six minutes but Al Sailiya’s defence was strong enough to ensure the 3-2 win.

At Al Khor Stadium, Al Arabi and Al Kharaitiyat played out a 1-1 draw. , Mardek Mrdkian  (78) scored for Al Arabi while Gounerou Mohy (93) scored the leveler for Al Kharaitiyat.