Our first football team lost to Al Markhiya Club 2-0 in a match held this evening at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium, Qatar SC, as part of the fourteenth and final round of the Second Division League. This result left our team at 11 points, eighth and last in the standings, while Al Markhiya raised their score to 25 points, in second place behind Al Sailiya Club, which qualified directly for the Ooredoo Stars League. Al Markhiya will now play the playoff match against Umm Salal Club.
The match started strongly from both teams, with a clear desire to score. However, real opportunities were absent, and the attacks did not rise to the level of danger.
Al Markhiya’s desire to score was stronger, as the team translated its superiority and scored the first goal in the eighth minute through Noufal Banis, following an organized counterattack. Al Markhiya succeeded in scoring the lead, bringing the score to 1-0 for our team.
After our team conceded the first goal, the required response was lacking, as the team posed no real threat to Al Markhiya’s goal. Offensive attempts were limited to individual moves by Anicet Ora and Abdul Rahim Al Balushi, which failed to rise to the level of serious threat.
Our team threatened Al Markhiya’s goal through Anicet Ora with an initial opportunity, a powerful shot from outside the box, but it went wide of goalkeeper Rami Hamada’s post.
Our team made continuous and persistent attempts to score an equalizer, but all attacks were met by a well-organized Al Markhiya defense, which succeeded in closing the spaces and eliminating any danger.
As the first half drew to a close, the pace of the match slowed somewhat, amidst mutual attempts by both teams that yielded no new developments in terms of performance or score.
The first half ended with Al Markhiya leading by one goal to none, in a half characterized by a mediocre performance from our team, which did not perform as expected and failed to impose its rhythm on the course of the game.
The second half began with a relative advantage for our team, who put early pressure on Al Markhiya’s goal. The opening move was a cross from Nassim Ben Issa, which was successfully cleared by the defense. This was followed by a dangerous opportunity with a powerful shot from Niall Mason from inside the penalty area, but the Al Markhiya goalkeeper excelled in stopping it, wasting a valuable opportunity to equalize the score.
In the 63rd minute, our team made its first substitution, bringing on Oliver White for Youssef Sabri Al Yahri, in an attempt to revitalize the attacking midfield and enhance their offensive effectiveness.
Our team faced clear difficulty in building attacks and threatening Al Markhiya’s goal due to the high pressure imposed by the Al Markhiya players, coupled with their tight closing of spaces.
In the 82nd minute, our team made two substitutions to bolster the midfield and attack, with Amjad Salah replacing Talal Munir and Davy Cruz replacing Saad Al Sawan.
Our team continued its intense efforts to score an equalizer, but without posing any real threat to Al Markhiya’s goal.
In the 85th minute, Al-Markhiya extended their lead with a second goal scored by Ahmed Mohamed Aboutrika, capitalizing on a clear defensive error by our defender Milan Obradovic. He slotted the ball into the net, making the score 2-0 for Al-Markhiya. The score remained unchanged until the final minutes, ending with Al-Markhiya winning 2-0 over our team.
