Al-Kuwait Takes Top Spot... Al-Qadsiah Moves to Second

Al-Qadsia moved up to second place in the Zain Premier League table after defeating hosts Al-Tadamun 2-0 on Saturday in the fourth round of the competition.

The “Yellows” increased their points tally to nine, one point behind league leaders Al-Kuwait, while Al-Furaniyan “Blues” remained at the bottom of the table with zero points.

Al-Qadsia dominated most of the first half, applying early pressure on the hosts’ goal and nearly scoring early in the period. Their chance came from a header by Moroccan player Hamza Khaba in the fifth minute, but the crossbar prevented the goal.

The “Yellows” did not take long to take the lead when another Moroccan, Ayoub Al-Khadra, scored the opening goal in the 19th minute. He capitalized on a cross from right-back Muath Al-Dhafiri. Al-Tadamun defender Waleed Saad tried to clear the ball away from Khaba, but it fell to Ayoub, who finished into the goalkeeper’s near corner past Daoud Al-Khalidi.

On the other side, Al-Furaniyan “Blues” relied on long balls from Ivorian player Aboubacar Doumbia and Yusuf Al-Rashidi, but these efforts bore no fruit. Their only real threat came from a fine shot by Doumbia in the 26th minute, which was brilliantly saved by Al-Qadsia goalkeeper Hamid Al-Qallaf.

At the start of the second half, Al-Tadamun appeared better equipped to compete with Al-Qadsia in midfield, though they lacked real danger. However, they suffered a blow when referee Hussein Jamal sent off Syrian player Ahmed Al-Dali for receiving his second yellow card in the 65th minute.

Al-Qadsia regained control as Omani duo Nasser Al-Rouha and Abdulrahman Al-Mashfari came on. Al-Mashfari provided the assist for the second goal, setting up Mutaa, who fired a beautiful shot into the right side of the net to secure the victory for his team in the 83rd minute.

Earlier on Friday, Al-Kuwait moved clear to the top of the table after thrashing hosts Al-Nasr 7-1, taking advantage of a 1-1 draw between their former title rivals Kazma and visiting Al-Arabi.

The round will resume on Sunday with two matches featuring local rivals. In the first, Al-Sahel will face Al-Fahaheel, while in the second, Al-Sulaibikhat will meet Al-Jahra.

Al-Sahel leads Al-Fahaheel in the standings by one point (4 versus 3), giving their encounter extra momentum beyond their usual rivalry as teams in the lower half of the table.

The same applies to the match between Al-Jahra, who have three points, and Al-Sulaibikhat, who have two. Al-Jahra’s coach, Ahmed Abdul-Karim, hopes his team has benefited from their recent training camp in Qatar, where they played two friendly matches, and that their squad of foreign players is now fully assembled.