Al Duhail equals Al Ahli in round 2 of AFC league on Sunday

Qatar's Al Duhail agonized the pain of giving away a last-minute goal against Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli which resulted in a tie match in round 2 of the AFC Champions league at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah on Sunday.

The group C match played between Al Duhal and Al Ahli witnessed a dramatic game as Omar Al Soma scored in the final additional minute to equal Michael Olunga’s opener for Al Duhail as the teams concluded the match with a 1-1 draw. Prior to this match, Al Duhail had beaten Iraq’s Al Shorta and Al Ahli lost to Esteghlal in the opening round.

A vibrant start to the game was seen during the first minute of play, as captain Almoez Ali latched onto Paulo Edmilson Juniors pinpoint cross and narrowly missed Mohammad Al Owais' far post, as Al Duhail looked to set the tone for the match early on, with Olunga narrowly heading wide a few minutes later as well.

Al Owais was forced into a diving to save a goal when Olunga received a pass from Abdullah Al Ahrak and carefully placed a right-footed shot that the Saudi keeper was more than equal to.

Ali once again tested the keeper 10 minutes before the break when he dribbled past the Saudi sides ranks and fired a shot that was done powerfully by Al Owais, after a period of play where the intensity had slightly declined.

The deadlock for Al Duhail was finally broken with just less than 10 minutes into the second half, as the home side conceded a goal under pressure when Edmilson ran down the right flank and crossed the ball into the area. Although at first it seemed as if it was aimed for Ali but a deflection put into Olunga's path and the Kenyan made no error to shoot the ball right into the nets.

As the final whistle was soon to occur, Olunga missed a golden opportunity to double his tally and the scoreline when some smart interplay between his team-mates went to its peak in a penalty-shot like situation for the Kenyan, but he was able skied off at the moment.

Al Ahli’s Al Soma levelled the thrilling match for the hosts during the final minutes when Al Duhail’s defence was unsuccessful in clearing a corner that fell to Motaz Hawsawi, who passed the ball to the Syrian, as Al Soma right away volleyed into the nets to make it a tie breaker against Al Duhail.

Al Duhail Al Ahli AFC Champions league King Abdullah Sports City Jeddah Saudi Arabia Qatar Qatar News Qatar Day