KUWAIT: Titleholder Al-Arabi lost at home to archrivals Qadisiya 1-0 in an early heated match held during the second week of the Kuwait Premier League. Veteran forward Bader Al-Mutawwa scored the visitors' only goal of the match held at the Sabah Al-Salem Stadium on Saturday. The win gives Qadisiya six points from two matches as they have beaten Al-Shabab last week. Meanwhile, Al-Arabi suffered their first defeat of the season, and dropped to fifth in the standings with three points after they had won their first match of the season against Al-Tadhamon
Al-Arabi controlled the pace for most of the first half but failed to take advantage of their many chances in front of Qadisiya's goal. The pace of the game picked up during the second half and culminated at the 72nd minute when Mutawwa struck the ball in the back of Arabi's net, taking advantage of an error by the latter's goalkeeper Suleiman Abdulghafoor. In Saturday's other match, Salmiya earned their first three points of the season after beating Al-Shabab 2-0.
Kuwait SC remains on top of the standings with two wins from two matches against Al-Yarmouk and Al-Tadhamon. Kazma has six points too and sits second ahead of Qadisiya on goal difference. Al-Nasr is fourth with four points after they were held to a 1-1 draw against Al-Fahaheel, following their 3-2 win against Salmiya in the first week.
Qadisiya looks to take the momentum of their big win against Al-Arabi when they visit Kuwait SC on Saturday in another early showdown between two giants of Kuwait's football. The third week also features a heated clash between Kazma and Al-Nasr on Thursday, while Al-Arabi looks to recover from their loss when they host Salmiya on Friday.