MANAMA, 20 March — Two goals in four minutes gave Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia a precious 2-2 draw with Al Arabi of Qatar in an exciting match of the 19th GCC Clubs Football Championship last night at the National Stadium.
It was arguably one of the most thrilling encounters in the championship as the 10-man Al Arabi put up a brilliant performance to claim a two-goal lead before Al Ahli made an outstanding comeback to clinch a glorious point which helped them maintain their top spot in the table.
The clash got off with a shock for the Saudis, who beat their rivals and hosts Moharraq last week when they conceded a fifth-minute goal.
Ahmed Al Benali’s cross met Yousif Jaffer who headed past goalkeeper Tayseer Ahmed and into the back of the net despite a late attempt from defender Khalid Al Shenaif to clear the ball.
The Saudis seemed unstoppable as they made various inroads through Khalid Qahwaji, Ibrahim Suwayed and Obaid Al Dossary, but the Qatari defense, led by international Ibrahim Al Ghanim, were in superb form to foil all the opponents’ chances.
Three minutes later, Al Arabi should have made things worse for Al Ahli when veteran striker captain Mubarak Mustafa’s effort narrowly missed the target.
The second half saw a number of substitutions and changes in the strategy made by both coaches to take firm control of the game.
Al Arabi played with 10 men from the 75th minute when a player got injured while all their substitutions were made.
However, Al Arabi extended an amazing lead through national team striker Sayed Ali Basheer who broke through the right flank and fired past Tayseer to make it 2-0.
With nothing to lose, the Saudi team pushed themselves out on the attack and were rewarded.
Ibrahim Suwayed ended as solo run on the right with a cross which met Senegal’s substitute Mohammed Shaikh Tiam who beat the goalkeeper and the defense with a well-struck shot.
The Saudis fired home the equalizer in injury time thanks to Obaid Al Dossary who made the most of a blunder by the Qatari defense.
Al Ahli will take on Dhofar of Oman in the first round on Friday and a victory will get them the title for the second time in their history.
In an early match, home side Moharraq defeated Kuwait of Kuwait 2-0. Hussain Ali (57th minute) and Mohammed Jaffer (67) were on target for Moharraq who will play their last game on the same day against Al Shabab and they hope for a draw or a defeat for Al Ahli to be crowned as the champions.
