Al Ahli conceded a penalty early on but two goals from Captain Meshaal Abdulla wrapped up a much deserved win for the Brigadiers at the Saoud Abdulrahman stadium tonight.

 Wakrah were unlucky to lose to Al Arabi last week but against Al Ahli they simply failed to create enough big opportunities.

The Blue Waves would have hoped that the home advantage would be a factor but tonight they came out late from the starting blocks. In the first half Ahli played a high line and pressed well, however the goal came at the other end when winger Maher outpaced the defender and latched-on to the through-ball.

Al Ahli’s on-rushing keeper couldn’t get out of the way and the referee pointed to the spot. Argentine forward Saez stepped up and scored the first goal of his campaign with a firm strike down the middle (24’).

Al Ahli didn’t take long to respond when winger Kabangu  toyed with the Wakrah defence on the far side, he then sent in a low drilled shot which deflected off a Blues defender before falling into the path of Meshaal Abdulla who poked home his second of the night (56’).

Saez came close to restoring parity with a number of chances but Ahli keeper Amer Al Dosari   kept his side in the game.

At the other end, it was another frustrating night for new Greens forward Mubele who got into some good positions but was wasteful when it counted most.

All in all, it was a resilient performance from Al Ahli in a game that they slightly edged.  For Wakrah however, they will be frustrated that they couldn’t hold their lead and Head Coach José Mauricio will have his work cut out for him as he tries to find solutions to his team sitting way too deep, failing to press their opponents properly and have little attacking flair.