Saad Al-Suwaidi
Al Khor recorded a convincing 5-1 win over Al Sailiya in Round 1 (Group A) of the 2020-21 season Ooredoo Cup at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Saturday.
Al Sailiya took the lead through George Kossi in the 14th minute, but Al Khor staged a brilliant fightback to score five goals, through Khaled Radwan (30th minute), Mohammed El Sayed (37th minute), Helal Mohammed (57th minute), Said Brahimi (73rd minute) and Jassim Al Muraikhi (90+4).
The game started off with an offensive performance by both sides and Al Sailiya managed to surge ahead off a corner kick taken by Ghanem Al Qahtani and Kossi headed the ball past Al Khor goalkeeper Baba Djibril.
Al Khor were not to be playing the second fiddle to their rivals and The Knights raised their game by several notches, resulting in them scoring five goals to secure all three points and leaving their opponents hapless.
It may be noted that Al Sailiya had reinforced their squad ahead of the new season, while Al Khor are undergoing a transition in terms of technical staff and players, especially overseas professionals.
Meanwhile, Al Wakrah and Qatar SC played out a 1-1 draw in Round 1 (Group A) of the 2020-21 season Ooredoo Cup at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Saturday.
Abdulla Al Muftah put Al Wakrah ahead in the 44th minute, a lead that was neutralised by Qatar SC when Al Wakrah captain Abdulrahman Fakhroo headed the ball into his own net in the 76th minute in his bid to clear it even as Qatar SC’s Mohammed Salem too jumped for the ball. Both goals resulted from corner kicks.
Both teams gave opportunities to young players.
Stung by the deficit towards the end of first half, Qatar SC upped the ante in the second, launching a series of attacks and one such effort gave them the equaliser.
Qatar SC had come close to scoring a goal in the 57th minute, but Khaled Abdulrouf’s long-range shot was parried by Al Wakrah goalkeeper Hassan Idriss, who then thwarted Ali Awad.
Al Sadd, Al Duhail, Al Sailiya and Al Khor are the other teams in Group A.
The match between Al Sadd and Al Duhail, scheduled for 26th September, was deferred to a later date due to their participation in the 2020 AFC Champions League.