Federico Fernandez heads the ball to score Al Duhail's second goal against Al Sadd, yesterday.
Nam Tae-hee and Federico Fernandez struck in stoppage time as leaders Al Duhail made a stunning fightback to snatch a 2-2 draw against defending champions Al Sadd in a crucial QNB Stars League (QSL) clash yesterday.
Al Sadd were cruising to a comfortable 2-0 victory at their home turf of Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium before Al Duhail made a late comeback with sensational goals from Tae-hee (90+6 minutes) and Fernandez (90+8 minutes).
Juan Manuel Lillo’s side took the lead through Baghdad Bounedjah in 34th minute with Santi Cazorla doubling their advantage in 57th minute.
The coveted point from the postponed Round 10 tie took Hernan Crespo’s side tally to 36 points – five clear of second-placed Al Arabi and seven ahead of third-placed Al Sadd, who are seeking their third consecutive title triumph.
Al Duhail fans celebrate as Al Sadd fans look dejected after the visitors equalised in the stoppage time.
“The team showed its strong character again,” a jubilant Crespo said after the match.
“We have braved many challenges this season including players’ absence due to injuries and illnesses. Today, again the team overcame difficulties to perform well and succeeded in earning a draw with two stoppage time goals,” he added.
Tae-hee’s remarkable hit from 10 yards outside the box in the right corner gave Al Duhail three minutes to level the match, which proved enough for the Red Knights to seal a point.
Fernandez superbly connected Mohamed Musa’s cross with a diving header to score the equaliser just seconds before the final whistle as coach Crespo joined the players to celebrate the goal.
Earlier, Bounedjah’s goal made the difference in an evenly-matched first half with both the teams sharing the ball possession and making almost an equal number of attempts.
The striker sprinted to perfectly place himself to connect a fine cross from Cazorla, leaving no chance for Al Duhail goalkeeper Salah Zakaria with a touch from just outside the goal area.
Al Duhail coach Hernan Crespo embraces Federico Fernandez after the match.
As the Red Knights looked for a goal in the second half, an ambitious hit from Luiz Martin Junior from outside the box went wide just before Cazorla netted second goal for the Wolves.
After receiving a clever long pass from Akram Afif, Pedro Miguel hit a low cross from the right finding the Spaniard, whose instant hit was out of the reach of diving Zakaria.
Meanwhile, Al Markhiya collected full points with a 3-1 comeback victory over Al Sailiya taking their points tally to 18 with their fifth victory of the season.
At the Grand Hamad Stadium, Al Sailiya opened the scoring through Carlos Strandberg in the 11th minute with Driss Fettouhi equalising for Al Markhiya before the break with a strike in 38th minute.
Al Markhiya dominated the second half with goals from Jameel Al Yahmadi (67’) and Ze Turbo (89) sealing their victory.
In yesterday’s first match at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Yohan Boli secured a point for Al Rayyan netting an 89th minute header after Gelson Dala put Al Wakrah ahead in 82nd minute.
Al Wakrah stayed fourth in the standings with 24 points while Al Rayyan – 10th on the table – now have 13 points from 15 games.
Three more matches will be played from postponed Round 10 today with Al Arabi and Al Gharafa set to meet at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium.
In other matches, Al Ahli will face Qatar SC while Umm Salal will take on Al Shamal.
