Struggling Al Wakrah took on in-form Lekhwiya in the final game of the fourth round of QSL action at the Wakrah stadium yesterday evening. The thrilling encounter ended 3-2 in favour of Djamel Belmadi’s side who were buoyed by a brace from their Moroccan striker Yousef El Arabi.
Lekhwiya started well and El Arabi opened the scoring on the twelfth minute with his fourth goal of the season. South Korean international Nam Tae Hee received the ball on the run in the box and squared it to El Arabi who tapped it in to make it 1-0 for the Cops.
Seven minutes later El Arabi was amongst the goals again, doubling his side’s advantage. Young Qatari attacker Almoez Ali slipped the ball to El Arabi, who slid the ball into the net at the second time of asking, after scuffing his initial shot.
Al Wakrah threatened a second half comeback when Pablo Zeballos scored in the 63rd minute. Moroccan midfielder Mouhcine Moutouali made an incisive pass from the half way line towards the Paraguayan. Zeballos received the ball on the run and slid the ball past Amine Lecomte in the Lekhwiya goal.
Ten minutes later Lekhwiya all but sealed their win through Ali Afif. Substitute Ismail Mohamed delivered an inch-perfect cross to Afif who directed the ball into the unguarded goal from point blank range.
The match became interesting when Lekhwiya substitute Assim Madibo brought down Wakrah midfielder Ahmed Kahil in the box to give the Blue Waves a penalty. Pablo Zeballos stepped up for the spot kick and smashed it into the top left corner to make the scoreline 3-2 on the 83rd minute.
Lekhwiya held on until the final whistle and survived Al Wakrah’s mounting comeback. The result meant that Djamel Belmadi’s side maintained their undefeated streak while Al Wakrah remain in the drop zone with only one point from four games.