Umm Salal and Al Ahli played a 1-1 in Round 5 (Group A) of the 2021-2022 season Ooredoo Cup match at Al Wakrah Stadium on Tuesday.

 

Patrick Friday Eze (12^th minute) opened the scoring for Al Ahli but Umm Salal’s Abdulrahman Al Rashidi (65^th minute) was the hero with a second-half equalizer.

 

After a few tense exchanges, Al Ahli opened the lead through a slick move involving Aldoukali Al-baoure and Eze.

 

Al-baoure, on the edge of the Umm Salal box, curled in a neat loopy cross with his left foot. Eze, already in the Umm Salal box, jumped high to head the ball home from close range, sending the ball on the bounce into the net in the 12th minute.

 

Just two minutes later, Umm Salal’s Ali Ahmed Al-Yazidi hoodwinked his marked inside the Al Ahli box but his low cross from close range beat keeper Yazan Naim Hussein and the goalpost to his right with no player to deflect the ball into the net. In the 15^th minute, Al Ahli’s Abdulrasheed Umaru Ibrahim drilled a powerful low shot that was blocked by Umm Salal keeper Samy Beldi.

 

In the 25^th minute, Abdulrahman Raafat Zaky had all the time and space to drill a ball into Al Ahli net but his left-footed drive from close range went past the goalpost to the right of Al Ahli keeper Hussein.

 

At the hour-mark, Umm Salal’s Saoud Farhan Iashbih fired a bullet from close range but Al Ahli’s Talal Abdulla Bahzad blocked the move on the goalline.

 

Umm Salal finally managed to produce the equalizer after many wasted attempts. Al Rashidi, after receiving a cross from the midfield, charged into the Al Ahli box and slipped past a neat shot into the net to help Umm Salal equalize in the 65^th minute.