(MENAFN- Gulf Times) New boys Al Markhiya made a dream start to their QNB Stars League campaign when they pulled off a shock 2-1win over 13-times champions Al Sadd at the Grand Hamad Stadium yesterday.
It was just the result Yusuf Adam had hoped for as Markhiya made their intentions clear of challenging the best in the business after winning promotion last season.
'We were playing against one of the best teams in Qatar but we managed to put pressure on them, especially in the second half, former Qatar international Adam said.
'Al Sadd have some quality players but our players were not intimidated by them, the only Qatari coach in the top flight added.
Substitute Mohamed Saleh al-Neel was the star for Markhiya, scoring both goals for his aside after Al Sadd with just 10 minutes remaining after Spain and Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez had given the Wolves the lead in the 20th minute with a stunning free-kick.
Al Sadd, sporting black jerseys for the away clash, dominated the ball in the opening exchanges minutes but the newcomers remained composed with their defence not allowing any fatal breach of their back-line.
However, in the 12th minute, Al Sadd nearly scored their first goal of the new season when an unmarked Hassan al-Haydoos produced a deft snap-header but the deflection from close range was punched away by Markhiya keeper Fahad Younis.
Two minutes later Al Sadd skipper Xavi curled in a well-taken free-kick however defender Pedro Miguel failed to deflect the ball with his attempted header.
The Wolves' persistence in front of goal paid off on the 20th minute thanks to a moment of magic from their club captain. Xavi curled in an impressive free-kick, which looped into the top left hand corner, via a deflection from the Markhiya wall.
Despite going a goal down, the newly promoted side didn't let their heads drop and created their first chance of note 10 minutes from the break. Summer signing Tijan Jaiteh saw his long-range shot smartly blocked by Al Sadd goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb who dove to his left to deflect the ball away. The Wolves headed into the break with a narrow 1-0 lead.
Ten minutes into the second half, Al Markhiya's Ghanaian attacker Kwame Karikari slipped past his marker and took aim at the Al Sadd goal but again keeper al-Sheeb was equal to the task.
Al Sadd dominated the ball, but lacked penetration towards the final stages of the match. It was in fact Markhiya who looked the more dangerous side on the break.
On the 78th minute, Al Markhiya sub Mahmoud Attiyah attempted a solo effort but his clumsy-looking shot sailed past the Al Sadd goalpost without causing any alarm.
Attiyah's effort proved to be a warning shot as Markhiya found the equaliser nine minutes from time.
Beating the offside trap, substitute al-Neel fired a shot between the legs of Al Sadd al-Sheeb as the men in white celebrated the equaliser against their dominant opponents. Markhiya completed the fightback two minutes later, again with al-Neel at the heart of the action.
Taking their opponents on the break, striker Kwame Karikari produced an inch perfect ball to al-Neel who slotted away from close range for the second time in the match to script his team's sensational win.
Rayyan power past Khor
Meanwhile, Rodrigo Tabata also scored a brace as former champions Al Rayyan powered past Al Khor 4-2 to launch their campaign in style.
Coach Michael Laudrup had warned Al Khor were a dangerous side in his pre-match press conference yesterday but in the end Al Rayyan faced few problems in seeing off their rivals.
Abdelrazzaq Hamdalla had given Al Rayyan a 23rd minute lead before Tabata consolidated midway through the second half with a long-ranger that hit the post and dropped in.
Although Madson converted from the spot to pull one back for Al Khor, Tabata ensured Al Rayyan stayed comfortably ahead by blasting in a trademark free-kick from 25 yards for his second goal of the match.
Mouchine Moutualli made it 4-1 in the 85th minutes but Khalid al-Aryani's header with three minutes remaining gave the scoreline some respectability from Al Khor's point of view.
In another match, Al Sailiya defeated Al Arabi 3-1 with Wagner Rebeiro netting a double.
Khalfan Ibrahim had put Al Arabi ahead in the 23rd minute but Ribeiro's goals in the 33rd and 51st minutes helped Sailiya go ahead.
Uzbek Temurkhuja Abdulhkaliqov then put the issue beyond doubt for Al Sailiya with a 76th minute strike. (With inputs from QSL.com.qa)
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