Doha: Al Arabi and Al Wakrah played a 1-1 draw in Week 2 of the 2024-2025 season Ooredoo Stars League at the Al Thumama Stadium on Saturday.
Lucas Mendes scored for Al Wakrah in the 58th minute, while substitute Omar Al Somah scored the equaliser for Al Arabi in the 77th minute.
With the result, both teams are now on two points each, having also drawn their respective matches in the opening round of the season.
The match was full of exciting moments from the blast of the opening whistle, with the fast-paced moves on both ends resulting in the ball reaching the final third of each other within minutes, leading to much expectation from the fans and bench alike.
But for all the excitement, no early goals were recorded as both teams appeared to be equally matched, with the defence lineups doing yeoman’s job in curtailing any threats from the rampaging attackers.
Al Arabi’s Ahmed Alaaeldin tested the agility of Al Wakrah’s goalkeeper Mohammed Al Bakri in the 25th minute with a powerful long-range low strike that evaded all of The Blue Wave defenders, but the 27-year-old Qatari shot stopper was up to the task as he brilliantly saved the ball.
The best of the opportunities of the night, so far, came the way of Al Wakrah’s Ricardo Gomes in the 31st meeting, with him having only goalkeeper Jassim Al Hail to beat after an error in midfield by Luiz Martin Junior saw the ball well placed in the Cape Verdean’s path just inside the 18-yard box of The Dream Team but the center-forward somehow managed to shoot wide.
Al Wakrah’s Abdelkarim Hassan had an opportunity to give his side the lead just before halftime from a set-piece situation near the edge of the box after Gomes was adjudged to have been brought down by Al Arabi’s Marco Verratti, but the defender’s strike was way off the mark.
With no goals separating the two sides, they both went into the dugout at halftime with the hopes of a better second half.
The concluding half of the match was a different ball game entirely for The Blue Wave, as they came out firing from all cylinders.
Their efforts were finally rewarded in the 58th minute, with captain Mendes poking in the loose ball from a header by Alexander Scholz, following a corner kick, to break the deadlock.
Jolted by the goal, Al Arabi made a quick recovery as they went in search of the equaliser and Ahmed Fathi’s 30-yard thunderous strike in the 66th minute was seemingly heading home if not for the quick intervention of goalkeeper Al Bakri, who rose up to the occasion with a splendid save.
The Dream Team continued to pile relentless pressure on Al Wakrah’s defence, and the wall eventually caved in in the 77th minute as Al Somah, who replaced Youssef Msakni, headed home the equaliser from an overhead pass by another substitute, Isaac Lihadji.
With the equaliser already settled, Al Arabi went in search of the winning goal, and they could have been successful if not for some poor decisions in front of goals from their forwards.
Despite several attempts on both sides, especially in the last two minutes of added time, the match ended with the spoils shared between the two gladiators.
