Al Khor beat Al Markhiya in sudden death to enter Emir Cup quarterfinal
Doha: Al Khor survived a nerve-wracking penalty shootout against Al Markhiya, winning 10-9, to progress to the quarterfinals of the Emir Cup on Saturday.
Both teams were tied 1-1 at the end of regulation time.
Ariel Ngueukam gave Al Khor the lead in the ninth minute with an opportunistic header after Iranian midfielder Soroush Rafiei's initial shot was blocked by Markhiya goalkeeper Mohamed Khuroob.
Saleh Bader Al Yazidi equalised in 56th minute, providing Eric de Oliveira Pereira’s beautiful pass the finish it deserved.
Markhiya were down to 10 men in the 68th minute when Aden Ali Quilnela was sent off after receiving his second yellow for a foul on Al Khor goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar Ndiaye. Though Markhiya showed plenty of spirit despite their numerical disadvantage, they could not stop the game from going into the penalties.
In tie-breaker, both teams converted all their first five kicks taking it into sudden death where Markhiya keeper Khuroob erred with the 10th attempt handing Khor a place in the last eight where they take on Al Sadd.
In another pre-quarterfinal, Umm Salal blanked Al Kharaitiyat 5-0.
Ousama Darragi (12th minute), Yannick Sagbo (45, p, 94) and Mahmoud Al Mawas (55 and 85) scored for the winners.
Umm Salal will take on QNB Stars and Qatar Cup champions Duhail in the quarterfinal.
