Qadsia moves into second as Shabab stuns Salmiya

Bader Mutawa is chased by an opponent during the Zain Premier League match between Qadsia and Tadamon.

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 11: Al-Arabi coach Goran Sablic is on the verge of leaving the club following a disappointing start to the Zain Premier League season, with Montenegrin coach Zeljko Petrovic emerging as a leading candidate to replace him.

Al-Arabi has managed just three points from their first four matches, drawing 1-1 with Kuwait Club and Kazma, playing out a 3-3 draw with Sulaibikhat, and losing 2-1 to Jahra. The results have left the Green in 10th place.

Their struggles have also extended to continental competition. Al-Arabi missed out on the AFC Champions League Two after losing 4-1 to Indian side East Bengal in the playoff at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on August 12, forcing them to settle for a place in the AFC Challenge League.

Petrovic, who coached Qadsia in the 2024-25 season, is among the leading contenders to take charge. However, he failed to win silverware during his spell with the Yellow, who reached the Gulf Club Champions League final before losing to Iraq’s Duhok.

Al-Arabi is also considering appointing Mohammed Abdulnabi as caretaker manager until a permanent replacement is secured.

The Green now faces an important continental assignment, travelling to Tajikistan tomorrow for the AFC Challenge League Group B matches, scheduled for October 17-23. They will face Syria’s Homs Al-Fida, hosts Istiklol, and Lebanon’s Nejmeh.

Qadsia moved into second place in the league after beating Tadamon 2-0 in their fourth-round encounter at Tadamon’s stadium.

Although its performance fell short of expectations, the Yellow secured all three points to reach nine points, one behind leader Kuwait Club. The defeat left Tadamon bottom of the table after suffering its fourth successive loss.

Qadsia will now shift its focus to the AFC Challenge League, where it will host Group C matches from October 17-23. Its opponents are India’s Goa, Bangladesh’s Fortis, and Tajikistan’s Regar-TadAZ.

In another fourth-round match, Shabab produced a surprise 2-0 victory over host Salmiya. The result lifted the Ahmadi-based side to fourth place with seven points, while Salmiya slipped to fifth on six.

Kazma’s delegation leaves today for Dammam, where it will face Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ettifaq in its opening Group C fixture of the Gulf Club Champions League. The group also includes the UAE’s Ajman and Iraq’s Erbil.

Meanwhile, Bahrain’s Khalidiya arrived ahead of their AFC Champions League Two Group A encounter against Kuwait Club.

Kuwait Club lost 3-2 to Al-Wahda of the UAE in their opening match, while Khalidiya drew 0-0 with Nasaf of Uzbekistan.