DOHA: Qatar Stars League (QSL) points leaders Al Rayyan yesterday maintained their unbeaten streak this season with a convincing win over Al Gharafa while Qatar SC lifted the gloom at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium with a hard-fought victory over El Jaish.
Al Rayyan, who created QSL history with their 10th successive win last week, yesterday crushed former champions Al Gharafa 2-0 in the second match of the double header at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium.
It was their 11th win on the go, the most by a side in recent memory.
Earlier in the evening at the same venue, hosts Qatar SC snapped a horrendous run of form by edging second-placed El Jaish 1-0 to give coach Sebastiao Lazaroni some much-needed relief in front fans of black and yellow stripes.
In the last two weeks, Qatar SC conceded a total of 15 goals in two QSL clashes but Lazaroni’s men yesterday stopped the bleeding with an upset win against El Jaish. For the home side, Mousa Allaq scored the winner in the 61st minute.
In the feature game of the day and the final clash in round 11, Al Rayyan relied on two goals from striker Rodrigo Tabata (36) and Nathan Otavio (67) to bag three points on offer last night.
Spirited Qatar SC bounced back from recent heavy defeats to beat second-placed El Jaish and severely dent the Soldiers’ title hopes.
The Kings triumphed 1-0 at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium to grab only their second victory of the season.
For El Jaish it was a second defeat in two matches after last week’s 2-1 reverse against points leaders Al Rayyan.
The dangerous Yousef Al Kubaisi produced a defence-splitting pass on the hour mark and Al Allaq fired home a low shot from inside the area.
Sardor Rashidov hit a free-kick against the crossbar as El Jaish searched for an equaliser. But coach Lazaroni’s men were resolute in defence and well marshaled by goalkeeper Mohammed Mubarak. El Jaish were left to regret not going in front in the first half, when they had the lion’s share of possession.
Abderrazak Hamdallah almost broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute, but his swept effort was cleared off the line by Mohamed Al Robeai.
The visitors had another chance five minutes later. Rashidov hit a free-kick which bobbled before being parried by Mubarak. Magid Mohammed tried to score from the rebound, but Mubarak forced the forward to fire wide.
Qatar SC wasted two good chances just before the break. Mouhcine Iajour should have done better from inside the six-yard area, while Ali Al Mohannadiwas left frustrated after firing straight at Khalifa Abo Baker when clean through on goal. Those missed chances were forgotten in the second half though when Allaq pounced to the delight of Lazaroni and the Kings’ faithful.
THE PENINSULA
