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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Nam denies Al Fateh first ACL victory

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DOHA: Korean star Nam Tae-hee’s late equaliser snatched a 2-2 draw for Qatari giants Lekhwiya as Saudi outfit Al Fateh’s winless run in the Asian Champions League continued on Monday. The hosts appeared heading for their first-ever win in the continental event before Nam pulled out a stunning 86th minute equaliser in the Group B tie at Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Stadium in Al Hasa. Youssef al-Arabi had netted his third goal in two matches to help Lekhwiya go ahead in the 18th minute, heading the ball crisply off a Youssef Msakni cross, but Nathan Junior scored from the spot to draw level in the 40th minute after Luiz Junior had handled the ball.


The hosts forged ahead in the 56th minute, courtesy of a blunder by Lekhwiya goalkeeper Amine Lecomte who failed to collect the ball off a corner and Sayyaf al-Bishi slotted home from just three yards out. Lekhwiya clearly were the better side, especially in the latter part of the second half during which they came up with several scoring opportunities. But forward Youssef Msakni’s shot was saved by Al Fateh goalkeeper Abdullah al-Qaisher and Moez Ali went wide from close. With time running out 25-year-old midfielder Nam found the equaliser following a throw-in with a sweetly struck volley that arched over al-Qaisher into the top right corner of the net.


In another Group B match, Esteghlal Khuzestan handed UAE giants Al Jazira their second straight defeat with Aloys Nong finding the net in the second minute. Al Jazira, the runaway leaders in the UAE Pro League, were beaten 3-0 by Lekhwiya in Doha last week and their second loss on the trot has left them with a great deal of catching up to do. In Group A, Iran’s Estheglal thrashed Saudi Arabia’s Al Tawoon 3-0 and Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv— AFP


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