Umm Salal boosted their top four hopes with a 1-0 win against Al Arabi at their encounter this evening at Grand Hamad Stadium.
Umm Salal have been the draw specialists in this QSL season after racking up 11 stalemates in their first 23 games. But they held on for the victory here to move on to 38 points, and now sit just three points behind fourth-placed Lekhwiya, who lost 2-0 to Al Khor on Friday.
Despite missing the injured Paulinho, Arabi bossed possession throughout the game. However they failed to break down a resilient Salal side which was forced to rely on counter-attacks for much of the match. Arabi’s depleted forward line suffered another blow early on when Yusef Ahmed was forced off after a collision with Salal goalkeeper Baba Malick.
Umm Salal scored the game’s only goal in the 33rd minute. Arabi defender Javad Nekounam’s attempted clearance went straight to Abdulgadir Ilyas, and the Sudanese forward’s cross was headed in by Mounir El Hamdaoui.