2021-22 QNB Stars League - Week 6 highlights
The 2021-2022 QNB Stars League Week 6 matches, played on October 16 and 17 saw exciting action and as many as 26 goals being scored. Two of the six games ended in draws.
The Al Sadd vs Al Gharafa and Al Duhail vs Al Rayyan fixtures highlighted the week’s action.
The round also witnessed the largest number of goals scored in one match (10 goals) when Al Sadd defeated Al Gharafa by a 6-4 margin to continue their unbeaten run with 18 points. Al Gharafa remained on nine points.
Al Duhail beat Al Rayyan 3-0 to remain second in the table with 15 points from five matches. Al Rayyan fell from fifth to sixth place with six points.
Here are the highlights from the matches:
Al Duhail 3 vs Al Rayyan 0
Date: Sunday, October 17, 2021.
Venue: Al Gharafa Stadium
Al Duhail beat Al Rayyan 3-0 in a high-profile clash at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Sunday.
Paulo Edmilson Junior (third-minute, penalty), Almoez Ali (40th-minute penalty) and Michael Olunga (55th minute) found the net for Al Duhail in what turned out to be an entertaining clash in front of a sizeable crowd.
Al Duhail took their tally to 15 points from five matches (an all-win record) and Al Rayyan stood on six points.
Al Duhail has a postponed match against Al Wakrah to be played from Week 5. It is scheduled for Thursday, October 21, 2021.
In just the second minute, Al Rayyan’s Khaled Muftah seemingly pushed Al Duhail’s Edmilson, playing after a long layoff, inside the box. Referee Mohammed Al Shammari pointed to the spot and Edmilson scored in the third minute with a drive to the right of keeper Fahad Younes.
In the 39th minute, Al Rayyan were guilty of another misdemeanor inside their own box when Dame Traore – while producing a sliding tackle – upended Al Duhail’s Olunga.
The referee, after consulting VAR, ruled a penalty in favor of Al Duhail and Almoez scored from the spot-kick, but the referee asked the Qatar national team striker to take the penalty again. Almoez once again chose left as he drilled the ball past the Al Rayyan keeper to help his team go 2-0 up.
Ten minutes after changing ends, Al Duhail’s Olunga deflected a ball into the net from close range after an assist by Ismail Mohammed from outside the box.
A long-range shot by James Rodriguez, Al Rayyan's star recruit who was playing his first match in Qatar, in the 75th minute saw Al Duhail keeper Mohammed Al Bakri dive to his left to effect a save.
Al Sadd 6 vs Al Gharafa 4
Date: Sunday, October 17, 2021
Venue: Al Gharafa Stadium
Reigning champions Al Sadd beat Al Gharafa 6-4 in a 10-goal thriller at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Sunday.
Baghdad Bounedjah (seventh and 51st minutes), Hassan Al Haydous (14th and 40th minutes) and Andrew Ayew (89th minute) scored the goals for Al Sadd, who benefited from an own goal from Al Gharafa’s Saifeldeen Fadlalla in the 17th minute.
Despite being under pressure, Al Gharafa fought back gallantly as Cheick Diabate (21st and 45th minutes), Saifeldeen Fadlalla (29th minute) and Ahmed Alaaeldin (57th minute) scored for them.
Al Sadd raised their score to 18 points from six victories (all-win record), while Al Gharafa remained on nine points.
Bounedjah netted the first goal of the game for The Wolves in the seventh minute - after receiving a cross from Rodrigo Tabata - outpaced Almahdi Ali and charged into the Al Gharafa box. Just as keeper Yousef Hassan stepped away to block the move, he clipped the ball into the net.
It was not too long that Al Sadd jumped to a 2-0 lead. Al Haydous – on the right flank – clipped in a cross for his forwards but his shot got deflected by marker Saeed El Hajj’s foot. The ball looped high above and dropped over the head of the Al Gharafa keeper and crashed into the net.
Three minutes later, Al Haydous was in the Al Gharafa box, but his cross for a team-mate was deflected into the goal by Al Gharafa’s Under-19 player Fadlalla for an own goal.
Al Gharafa then put an end to the Al Sadd goal glut as Diabate – after receiving a short cross inside the box – drilled the ball into the net from close range.
Close to the half-hour mark, the match witnessed the fifth goal when Fadlalla compensated for his lapse by slotting the ball into the Al Sadd net when Sofiane Hanni’s penalty kick was saved by keeper Meshaal Barsham.
Al Sadd jumped to a 4-2 lead after Al Haydous drilled the ball from the edge of the Al Gharafa box into the net following an assist from Akram Afif.
Five minutes later, Diabate – after receiving a cross from Hanni close to the half-line – charged ahead solo. Following a long run, Diabate easily slotted the ball past the Al Sadd keeper.
Before the close of the first half, Al Sadd’s Ali Asad scored with a left-footed drive from close range, but it was disallowed following a VAR review.
An Al Haydous-Bounedjah 1-2 saw the latter score his second of the match as Al Sadd went 5-3 up.
Al Gharafa’s Alaaeldin tapped the ball into the net from close range after a long cross by Fadlalla to make it 4-5 for his side.
Ayew added to Al Sadd’s bulging tally when he scored from close range late into the game.
Al Khor 2 vs Al Ahli 2
Date: Sunday, October 17, 2021
Venue: Al Khor Stadium
Al Khor staged a late fightback to hold Al Ahli to a 2-2 draw at the Al Khor Stadium on Sunday.
Patrick Eze (53rd minute) and Abdulrahman Al Harazi (63rd minute) scored for Al Ahli. And Al Khor bounced back with goals from Rafael Vaz (82nd minute) and Ismail Haddad (88th minute).
Al Khor and Al Ahli both moved on to four points and joined Umm Salal, who drew 2-2 with Qatar SC on Saturday, as the three teams still searching for their first victory in this season’s league championship.
Qatar SC 2 vs Umm Salal 2
Date: Saturday, October 16, 2021
Venue: Al Arabi Stadium
Qatar SC and Umm Salal shared points after a feisty 2-2 draw at the Al Arabi Stadium on Saturday.
Sebastian Soria (43rd minute) opened the scoring and his strike was followed by a goal from Bashar Rasan (45th minute) for Qatar SC who were playing their first league match under new Moroccan coach Youssef Safri, himself their former player.
In a spectacular strike off a direct corner kick, Isael Barbosa (67th minute) managed the first strike followed by Ayman Abdennour’s (90th minute) goal as Umm Salal wrapped up their gallant fight.
In the 43rd minute of play, Soria found the net through a header from Khaled Ahmed cross leaving keeper Ndiaye stunned with his athleticism from close range.
Soon afterward, Soria hit a goalpost with a neat low shot that beat keeper Ndiaye. However, the ball bounced off the goalpost and Rasan was in close range to flick the ball into the net with his left foot to give Qatar SC a 2-0 cushion just seconds before the end of first half.
In the 57th minute, Abdulrahman Mohammed of Qatar SC managed a header from an awkward position inside the Qatar SC box, but the deflection narrowly missed the far goalpost.
Ibrahim Saleh Al Kirby of Umm Salal also missed a similar drive from close range just a minute later.
Barbosa then probably scored the most spectacular goal of the season – a curling corner kick that sailed right into the net.
Umm Salal scored the equalizer when Qatar SC’s Mohamed Salim and Javier Martinez failed to clear a loopy ball inside their own box and Umm Salal’s Ghadban easily sent the ball into the net with defenders or keeper Al-hail out of sight.
Al Sailiya 0 vs Al Wakrah 1
Date: Saturday, October 16, 2021
Venue: Al Wakrah Stadium
Al Wakrah defeated Al Sailiya 1-0 at the Al Wakrah Stadium on Saturday.
Mohamed Benyettou netted the all-important goal in the 87th minute.
Al Wakrah moved on to eight points with their second victory.
Al Sailiya stood on four points after suffering their fourth defeat.
The match started off at a fast pace, with both teams trying to score in order to have an early advantage.
However, they failed to translate their attempts into goals in the first half, where Al Sailiya had an edge in terms of attacks.
Al Sailiya captain Majdi Siddiq had his missile shot saved by goalkeeper Saoud Al Khater in the 33rd minute.
Al Wakrah were a rejuvenated lot in the second half and that paid off for them eventually.
Al Wakrah’s Khalid Muneer’s shot was deflected out in the 52nd minute and Benyettou headed wide two minutes later.
Al Sailiya countered on the hour mark, but Driss Fettouhi’s free-kick was off the target.
Al Wakrah’s Jacinto Dala hit his shot wide from inside the box in the 84th minute, but they were not to be denied as Benyettou soon found the mark with a grounder from close range past goalkeeper Claude Amine after substitute Nasser Al Yazidi did most of the hard work for the goal.
Al Wakrah were not in action in Week 5 of the QNB Stars League as their match against Al Duhail was postponed to a later date due to the health measures that prevented Al Duhail players from participating in training and matches.
It will be played on Thursday, October 21, 2021, at the Al Wakrah Stadium.
Al Shamal 1 vs Al Arabi 3
Date: Saturday, October 16, 2021
Venue: Al Arabi Stadium
Al Arabi beat Al Shamal 3-1 at the Al Arabi Stadium on Saturday.
Yousef Msakni (13th and 54th minutes) and Aaron Boupendza (22nd minute) scored the goals for Al Arabi, while Amjad Attwan (74th minute) reduced the deficit for Al Shamal.
Al Arabi moved on to 12 points and Al Shamal remained on four points.
Al Arabi opened the scoring through Msakni when his team-mate Ahmed Fathi charged into the Al Shamal box and slipped in a neat cross to an unmarked Msakni stationed close to the Al Shamal goalmouth. The Tunisian forward deflected the ball into the net with the goalkeeper in no position to stop it.
With early momentum on their side, Al Arabi jumped to a 2-0 lead. Boupendza, with a solo effort starting from close to the Al Shamal box, charged ahead with the ball. Despite being shadowed by Fahad Waad and Mohsen Al Yazeedi, the Gabonese unleashed a thunderbolt that went flat before crashing into the net to the right of the keeper.
In a beautiful long run, Al Shamal skipper Bahaa Faisal ran for more than 20M before he missed the target by a whisker following a shot from inside the Al Arabi box in the 36th minute.
In the 54th minute, Msakni added one more to his name when he found Boupendza with a neat cross just outside the Al Shamal box. Boupendza charged into the box, but found pace to go ahead of the ball and backheel it to Msakni, who easily scored from close range.
In the 66th minute, Bahaa Faisal sneaked into the Al Arabi box, but his left-footed drive was blocked by Aron Gunnarsson, seemingly with his outstretched left hand. The referee was helped by VAR and calls for penalty were dismissed.
Then came Al Shamal’s consolation goal as Attwan found the net after a cross from Jeison Escobar.
The QNB QSL Week 7 round of matches will be played on Sunday, October 25 and Monday, October 26, 2021, respectively.
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