Kuwait advances to Al-Qadisiya on a goal-differential tiebreaker

Kuwait secured a precious victory over Al-Qadsia in the final moments with a goalless scoreline, as Mohammed Marhoon scored in the 90th minute in the match held today at the Mohammed Al-Hamad Stadium, as part of the second round of the Zain Premier League. With this result, Al-Abyad (Kuwait) moved up to four points, while Al-Asfar (Al-Qadsia) remained on their previous tally of three points.

The first half did not start well from an attacking perspective due to the high level of caution shown by both teams, with some attempts from Al-Qadsia directed at Saudi Al-Houshan’s goal that did not pose a significant threat. As time progressed, Kuwait became more active and attacked Al-Qadsia’s goal at intervals, but the most dangerous chance fell to Al-Asfar after a cross reached Abdulrahman Al-Mashfari, who was alone inside the penalty area but failed to connect with the ball as required (35th minute). Ayoub Lakhder nearly opened the scoring for Al-Asfar with a header that Al-Houshan pushed away from the goal line (48th minute). Yusuf Nasser responded with a powerful shot that was saved by Hamid Al-Qallaf (49th minute).

In the second half, Kuwait’s attacking performance improved, reaching Al-Qadsia’s goal on several occasions, whether through crosses or shots, one of which came from Mehdi Barhamah and was narrowly cleared by Hamid Al-Qallaf (54th minute). Kuwait increased the pressure on Al-Asfar’s goal, especially after Mohammed Daham entered the fray amid a defensive wall set up by Al-Qadsia players in front of their goal, relying on counter-attacks that were not executed as required. In the 90th minute, Mohammed Marhoon scored the match’s only goal for Kuwait after a cross from Amr Abdel Fattah reached him, and he fired it powerfully into the net. The match was refereed by Uzbekistan’s Algiz Tantashiev, who managed the game excellently.