NAM STUNNER

NAM Tae-Hee’s 86th-minute stunner handed Lekhwiya a 2-2 draw against Saudi Arabia’s Al Fateh in their AFC Champions League Group B match at Al Hausa, Saudi Arabia, last Monday.

Youssef El Arabi headed in from a Youssef Msakni cross in the 18th, the former’s third goal in two matches, to put Lekhwiya in front, but Nathan Junior scored from the spot to draw level in the 40th after Luiz Martin had ‘handled’ the ball.

The hosts forged ahead in the 56th due to an error by keeper Amine Lecomte after he failed to collect the ball off a corner, allowing Sayyaf Al Bishi to slot home from close.

Lekhwiya dominated towards the end and created several opportunities, with keeper Al Qaisher denying forward Msakni and Moez Ali shooting wide.

The hosts looked heading for their first-ever win in the continental event before South Korean international Nam equalised with a sweetly-struck volley that arched over goalkeeper Abdullah Al Qaisher into the top right corner of the net.

The draw meant the Saudi side’s winless run in the competition stretched to eight games.

In another Group B match, Esteghlal Khuzestan beat UAE’s Al Jazira 1-0, Aloys Nong finding the net in the second minute. Jazira, the runaway leaders in the UAE Pro League, were beaten 3-0 by Lekhwiya in their opening game and the second loss on the trot has left them in a spot.

In Group A, Iran’s Esteghlal thrashed Saudi Arabia’s Al Tawoon 3-0 and Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv downed UAE’s Al Ahli 2-0.