Al Khor got off to the unluckiest of starts, gifting Lekhwiya the lead after just 11 minutes through an own goal. South Korean international Nam Tae-hee made a darting run towards the 18 yards box before passing to Ali Afif who whipped a dangerous cross into Al Khor’s six yard box from the right wing. Seeing that Lekhwiya’s Youssef El-Arabi was approaching the back post, Al Khor’s number 23, Welinton Souza , attempted a sliding clearance but instead stabbed the ball into the back of his own net to hand Lekhwiya an easy 1-0 lead.
Al Khor stepped up the pace in the search for an equaliser which they nearly got after 30 minutes of play after Brazilian import, Madison, drew a fine fingertip save from Lekhwiya’s goalkeeper, Amine Lecomte. After picking up the ball 35 yards out, Madison ran at Lekhwiya’s Chico Flores before unleashing a low, hard shot which left Lecomte at full stretch to his right to tip it past the post.
Al Khor continued with the pressure though and just minutes later got the equaliser they had been looking for. Madison struck a beautiful cross from a free kick 35 yards out which found the head of Al Khor’s big number 5, Sultan Al Enezi, who managed to get in front of Chico Flores and head home to make it 1-1.
Moaaz Ali Abdalla should have given Lekhwiya a 2-1 lead going into the break after a fine cross found him with acres of space in the six yard box. Despite a huge leap to meet the ball with his head, the man in red missed the ball and it went out for a goal kick. 1-1 at the half-time whistle.
Lekhwiya managed to find the net first in the second half, taking the lead again on the 57th minute thanks to a close range goal from Qatari international, Ali Afif. Youssef El-Arabi managed to set Afif up with a clever chest controlled lay off after a looping cross drifted into the six yard box. Afif hit it first time and left Baba Djibril with no chance.
Both teams continued to create chances, with Lecomte pulling off a fine reflex save to deny a Mouhssine Iajour’s freekick from 25 yards out, and Lekhwiya’s number 19, Moaaz Ali again finding himself with space in Al Khor's six yard box but again failing to test the goalkeeper with his headed effort.
Al Khor secured a well-deserved point on the 73rd minute when the referee deemed Lecomte had brought down number 91, Ali Abdulkarem, in the box. Maddison stepped up and converted the penalty to make it 2-2 with a super cool finish, stuttering his run and sending Lecomte the wrong way.
Source: alkhor-club.com