Umm Salal defeated Al Ahli 2-1 in Week 15 of the 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League at the Al Thumama Stadium on Thursday.

Umm Salal’s goals were scored by Victor Lekhal (32nd minute) and Naser Al Nasr (45+5 minute) after Oumar Sekou had opened the scoring for Al Ahli in the fourth minute.

The result moved Umm Salal’s points tally to 19, while Al Ahli remained on 15 points.

A resurgent Al Ahli, who posted a 2-1 win away to Al Gharafa in Week 14, picked up from where they stopped against Umm Salal as they opened the scoring within four minutes of play, with Sekou finishing off a series of sublime interchanges between Eslam Yassein Elsherif and Julian Draxler inside Umm Salal’s box.

With a goal down, Umm Salal appeared to be the better of the sides with each tick of the minute in the first half as they went in search of the desperately-needed equaliser, but their several attempts at goal were rebuffed by the strong Al Ahli defence who brilliantly staved off the waves of attacks from the rivals.

After several attempts, parity was eventually restored in the 32nd minute with Lekhal’s left-footed shot finding the back of Al Ahli’s net from a Kenji Gorre’s sublime backheel assist. The goal was initially turned down, as Gorre was ruled to have been in an offside position before the pass. The goal was eventually made to stand after a VAR review.

Umm Salal continued to grow stronger with each passing minute and it was not surprising that they took the lead in four minutes of added time through Al Nasr, who lobbed the ball over onrushing goalkeeper Marwan Badreldin to take a well-deserved one-goal advantage into the second half.

The second half was more like an extension of the later part of the first, with Umm Salal’s dominance continuing for the better part of the session. Umm Salal’s Lucas Joao and Gorre had a couple of opportunities to extend their side’s lead, but goalkeeper Marwan Badreldin’s brilliant performance between the sticks, coupled with some good defensive work, maintained the score as it was.

Al Ahli appeared to be getting their grooves back with the game winding up as they became the dominant side with waves of attack against their opponents, who seemed to be content with their lone-goal lead while attempting to run down the clock.

Despite several attempts from Al Ahli, Umm Salal maintained their lead and ran away with the maximum points.