Northwestern University in Qatar emerged victorious in its first Qatar Universities Football League fixture against Hamad Bin Khalifa University by a scoreline of four goals to three.
After NU-Q’s tournament opener against Qatar University on Oct. 18 was postponed due to pitch issues, the Wildcats finally took to the field on Monday.
HBKU – seeking to redeem itself after facing a humiliating 13-0 loss against UDST in the opening fixture – started the match with all guns blazing.
Quick to capitalize over NU-Q’s high defensive line, HBKU striker Amro Mohamed collected a long ball, set off on a run from his half, and converted it to give HBKU a 0-1 lead.
Leonjre Awani’s wonder goal from outside the penalty box equalized the scores, bringing the Wildcats back in the game.
NU-Q would rally behind the momentum created by the goal, coming inches close to breaking the deadlock on multiple occasions.
The shackles were finally broken when Khalid Al Kubaisi’s cross into the goal area was not properly dealt with by an HBKU player which resulted in an own goal, giving NU-Q a 2-1 lead.
HBKU’s Mohamed, on the other hand, was a man on a mission and wouldn’t allow the Wildcats to celebrate for long. The striker displayed great composure, dribbling the ball from the center line and penetrating the NU-Q box to score his second goal of the night.
To make things worse, Mohamed made another darting run into the NU-Q box to complete his hattrick, setting the scoreboard at 3-2 going into the halftime.
Despite starting the second half with an attacking display, NU-Q was repeatedly denied by HBKU’s goalkeeper Bihas al-Mabrouk, who finished the game with more than five saves.
NU-Q’s Nawfil Ayoub, shown a yellow card earlier for losing his cool, would step up to the occasion, calmly converting Abdulla Kuwari’s assist to tie the game 3-3.
The pair of Ayoub and Kuwari would get back to work again, with the two combining to give NU-Q the winner. Kuwari’s strike chipped the top post before entering the post and put the Wildcats ahead, 4-3.
Ayoub, who looked to be NU-Q’s best player on the night, was booked for the second time for wasting time, reducing the side to ten men. Ayoub will miss the Wildcat’s next game.
After Ayoub’s exit, the 10-men NU-Q lineup was put to work by HBKU attackers, setting up repeated attacks. NU-Q’s goalkeeper, Muhammad Wassay Mir would save the day with a brilliant save in the last action of the night, completing the comeback.
With a win under their belt, the Wildcats are set to face tournament favorites Qatar University or Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar, based on the revised schedule.
The first game of the day between the American University of Afghanistan and QU was called off due to heavy rain and will now be played at a later date.
As such, QU and AUAF will have to wait longer to play their tournament openers, with the latter facing Ahmed Bin Mohammed Military College next.