QNB Stars League: Umm Salal Beat Al-Sailiya To Escape Relegation

Doha, April 08 (QNA) - Umm Salal achieved an important victory over Al-Sailiya 1-0 today at Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium in the 21st round of the QNB Stars League. Kayke Rodrigues scored the winner in the 59th minute and this victory is the fifth for Umm Salal this season, with six draws and ten defeats, to bring his tally to 21 points in tenth place, and it guarantees staying in the championship next season after he is 5 points away from Al-Khor, which is 11th before the last, before one round to the end. On the other hand, Al-Sailiya lost the ninth, with five draws and seven wins, to stop his score at 26 points in eighth place. The match was strong from the side of the two teams and the first half witnessed an exchange of missed opportunities by the players of the two teams, and the most dangerous opportunity came for the Al Sailiya team in the 36th minute when the match referee, Abdullah Al-Athba, awarded a penalty kick for the team, which was set by the player Tiago Bezerra and hit the ball to hit the left post and return to Umm Salal's goalkeeper Baba Malik to hold it and miss the closest opportunity for Al Sailiya to advance in the match. In the second half, Umm Salal players continued to press from the rear and from the sides and seemed to be more determined to win to escape relegation or play a playoff match, and from a quick organized attack, Kayke Rodrigues succeeded in scoring the only goal of the match in the 59th minute. On the other hand, Al Sailiya players tried to equalize, but Baba Malik and his defense stood in the way of Al Sailiyas attempts. Umm Salal player Ismail Mahmoud almost added the second goal for his team from alone in the goal, but he shot within the reach of Al Sailiya goalkeeper Claude Amin, who controlled the ball in the 81st minute. But Umm Salal's goalkeeper confronted the ball. The remaining minutes of the match witnessed mutual attempts by the two teams until the referee blew his whistle announcing the end of the match with Umm Salal winning with a clean goal. The round matches will be concluded later today with a match between Al-Arabi, who is seventh with 26 points, and Al-Kharitiyat, who is last-placed, who was officially relegated to the second division and has 9 points.(QNA)