Omar Ali (centre) celebrates after scoring Al Wakrah's second goal against Al Duhail.
Doha, Qatar: Al Wakrah came back from behind twice to edge Al Duhail 3-2 and move up to second place as the Expo Stars League (ESL) reached the halfway stage yesterday.
The Blue Wave pushed Al Gharafa to third place on a better goal difference with both the sides having 24 points, four adrift of leaders Al Sadd, who suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Al Arabi – their first loss in the top flight this season from 11 matches.
Defending champions Al Duhail took an early lead at their home turf of Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium with Youssef Ayman’s goal in the seventh minute. After Gelson Dala scored the equaliser, Philippe Coutinho converted a penalty to regain lead for the Red Knights but Al Wakrah scored two quick goals through substitute Omar Ali and Hamdy Fathy to pull off a victory.
Al Arabi's Rafinha (third left) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Al Sadd.
Al Duhail stayed fifth with 17 points, two points behind fourth-placed Al Rayyan after their third loss in four matches.
Coutinho’s free kick paved the way for Al Duhail opener as his strike hit the bar after taking defender’s touch giving Ayman a chance to score from a close range, which he availed comfortably to put Al Duhail on front.
Dala leveled for Al Wakrah in 27th minute as his hit found the target after goalkeeper Salah Zakaria tossed the ball from the edge of six-yard box in an attempt to stop the goal.
The Red Knights regained their lead with Coutinho hitting on top of the net after Sainsbury Lucas was penalised for a foul against Khaled Mohammed Saleh in stoppage time of the first half.
Al Duhail could have extended their lead in 68th minute but South Korean Kim Moon-hwan wasted an easy opportunity, hitting the ball wide from inside the box with only goalkeeper to beat.
Al Duhail paid for the mistake as the Blue Wave made a turnaround in the next nine minutes. Ali pulled the equaliser hitting a powerful left-footed in 74th minute, three minutes before Hamdy Fathy clinched three points for Al Wakrah with a low drive from outside the box into the left corner.
Al Duhail coach Christophe Galtier was dejected over the defeat blaming mistakes for the loss.
“It’s true we are struggling because of absences but we committed many defensive errors in the match. We were ahead twice but Al Wakrah changed the game in five minutes. It’s a disappointing result for us,” said Galtier. “We must continue to work and correct the defensive errors.”
Later at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Rafinha’s touch from a close range following a corner kick in 31st minute proved enough for Al Arabi to score a vital victory over hosts Al Sadd.
The Dream Team jumped to sixth place in the standings after three crucial points took their tally to 16.
