The 2019-20 QNB Stars League Week resumed, after a brief break occasioned by the prestigious 2020 Qatar Cup competition, with the Week 13 round of matches played on Thursday, 23rd January, Friday, 24th January, and Saturday, 25th January (two matches on each day).
A total of 18 goals were scored with Al Gharafa’s new recruit and former Aston Villa forward Jonathan Kodjia netting a hat-trick on his debut in Qatar against Al Rayyan. There were two high-scoring games (Al Gharafa beating Al Rayyan and Al Sadd defeating Al Shahania by an identical 4-2 margin) and one drawn encounter (Qatar SC vs Al Wakrah).
Below are the highlights and results:
Match: Al Sailiya 0 vs Al Ahli 1
Date: Thursday, January 23, 2020
Venue: Al Ahli Stadium
Abel Mathias netted the winner as Al Ahli beat Al Sailiya 1-0 in Week 13 of the 2019-20 QNB Stars League at the Al Ahli Stadium on Thursday. The all-important goal was scored in the 27th minute as Al Ahli moved to 16 points and Al Sailiya remained on 17 points.
It was Al Ahli’s first win, and fifth overall, after they replaced Spanish coach Ruben de la Barrera with Montenegrin Nebojsa Jovovic. The slump of Al Sailiya, who had recently lost 0-2 to Al Duhail in the 2020 Qatar Cup semifinal, saw them suffer their sixth defeat.
Match: Al Gharafa 4 vs Al Rayyan 2
Date: Thursday, January 23, 2020
Venue: Al Gharafa Stadium
Al Gharafa defeated Al Rayyan 4-2 in a thriller in Week 13 of the 2019-20 QNB Stars League at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Thursday. Al Gharafa secured a massive three points, thanks to a hat-trick from debutant Jonathan Kodija.
Sofiane Hanni opened the scoring in the 24th minute through a penalty, with Kodjia netting in the 65th (penalty), 66th and 86th minutes. Al Rayyan had earlier taken the lead with goals from debutant Yohan Boli (27th minute) and Sebastian Soria (62nd minute).
Match: Qatar SC 0 vs Al Wakrah 0
Date: Friday, January 24, 2020
Venue: Qatar SC Stadium
Jassim Al Hail saved a penalty to earn Qatar SC a point in a goalless draw against Al Wakrah in Week 13 of the 2019-20 QNB Stars League at the Qatar SC Stadium on Friday. With both sides pushing to advance up the league table, they had to settle for a point apiece in a match which promised a lot, but did not deliver. Al Wakrah will feel the most aggrieved not to have walked away with three points as they enjoyed the lion’s share of attempts on target.
They spurned a glorious double chance when neither Khalid Mazeed nor Mohamed Benyettou were able to test the goalkeeper midway through the first half.
Match: Al Arabi 1 vs Al Duhail 3
Date: Friday, January 24, 2020
Venue: Al Arabi Stadium
Almoez Ali struck a double, early and late into the game, as Al Duhail defeated Al Arabi 3-1 in a heavyweight battle in Week 13 of the 2019-20 QNB Stars League at the Al Arabi Stadium on Friday. Almoez (fourth minute and 90+4)) and Paulo Edmilson (33rd minute) scored as Al Duhail moved on to 33 points.
Hamdi Harbaoui converted a penalty in the 19th minute to give the only reply for Al Arabi, who stood on 18 points. Al Duhail thus remained as the only unbeaten side so far this season after Al Rayyan suffered their first defeat on Thursday.
It was The Red Knights 10th victory, the most by any team. They drew the other three matches.
Match: Umm Salal 1 vs Al Khor 0
Date: Saturday, January 25, 2020
Venue: Al Gharafa Stadium
Umm Salal blanked Al Khor 1-0 in Week 13 of the 2019-20 QNB Stars League at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Saturday. Syrian striker Mahmoud Al Mawas scored the only goal for The Orange Fortress in the sixth minute. Umm Salal moved on to eight points with only their second victory, whereas Al Khor remained on nine points with their eighth defeat.
The victory was a great relief for Umm Salal, who stayed at the rock bottom of the QNB Stars League. It was also sweet revenge for Umm Salal, who had lost by a similar margin to Al Khor in the first leg, in Week 2 of the QNB Stars League.
Match: Al Sadd 4 vs Al Shahania 2
Date: Saturday, January 25, 2020
Venue: Al Sadd Stadium
Al Sadd beat Al Shahania 4-2 in Week 13 of the 2019-20 QNB Stars League at the Al Sadd Stadium on Saturday. Hassan Al Haydous (ninth minute), Akram Afif (57th-minute penalty) and Baghdad Bounedjah (90+4 penalty) got into the scoring act for Al Sadd, who were also helped by an own goal by Al Shahania’s Saleh Al Yahri in the 49th minute.
Ahmed Akaichi (third and 65th minutes) scored a double for Al Shahania.
Al Sadd, who had triumphed in the 2020 Qatar Cup last weekend by defeating Al Duhail in the final, now have 27 points following their ninth victory, while Al Shahania remained on eight points after their seventh defeat.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd had earlier in the week (Tuesday, January 21) defeated Al Khor 2-1 in a Week 7 rescheduled match, deferred due to Al Sadd’s AFC Champions League commitment, at the Al Khor Stadium.
Tiago Bezerra gave Al Khor the lead as early as the fourth minute. Nam Tae-Hee equalized for Al Sadd in the 29th minute and Akram Afif netted the winner (90+6 minutes).
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