Al Rayyan and Umm Salal players in action during yesterday's match.
Doha: Al Rayyan blanked Umm Salal 2-0 in their Round 5 Group B match of the Ooredoo Cup at the Al Arabi Stadium yesterday.
Johan Boli (58th-minute penalty) and substitute Ali Ferydoon (79th minute) scored for Al Rayyan, who ended up their group engagements with seven points.
Umm Salal stood on four points.
Al Rayyan had more of the ball in the first half (62 per cent) and had some chances. Mowafak Awad made two attempts at the goal and Abdulaziz Hazaa one.
At the other end, Umm Salal’s Lawrence Quaye’s free-kick hit the defensive wall and the ball went out.
Al Rayyan were in good spirit in the second half too. Boli’s shot off a cross from the right by Mohammed Alaaeldin was blocked by Umm Salal goalkeeper Samy Habib.
Al Rayyan’s persistent efforts saw them take the lead as Boli converted a penalty awarded when Gabriel Mercado’s header hit the hand of Umm Salal’s Omar Yahya.
Ferydoon, who came in for Mohammed Alaaeldin in the second half, doubled the lead with a brilliant shot that went in after hitting the right post, Abdulrahman Al Harazi setting him up with good work along the right flank.
Elsewhere, three-time champions Al Gharafa topped the table with an unbeaten record as they clinched their fourth win in the group stage yesterday.
Saied Elhag Eisa (3), Othman Al Yahri (10) and Sofiane Hanni (68) scored the goals.
Al Gharafa grabbed the lead when Abdulghani Muneer beautifully curled in a free-kick and Saied found the target with a snap-header after outpacing Al Ahli defender Shane Lowry.
Al Gharafa doubled their lead through Al Yahri, who exhibited good speed near the Al Ahli box. After receiving a loopy cross a few metres away from the edge of Al Ahli box, Al Yahri outpaced Mohammed Al Naimi before rifling in a low shot with his right foot. In the 20th minute, Al Ahli’s Hazem Shehata fired a left-footed low drive that beat Al Gharafa keeper Salah Zakaria Hassan, but the ball got ricocheted off the post.
Twelve minutes later, Al Ahli’s Abdulrasheed Umaru took aim at the Al Gharafa goal from close range, but misfired with his effort despite having ample space to find the net.
Al Gharafa’s third goal came after Al Ahli defender Ibrahim Majed produced a clumsy sliding tackle on Hanni close to the box. Hanni survived the tackle and charged into the box. Al Ahli goalkeeper Yazan Naim stepped out to block the move, but Hanni calmly slotted the ball home.
Earlier, a brilliant double by Fahd Khalfan (45 +2), and 50 powered Al Arabi to a 2-1 win over Al Kharaitiyat at Al Arabi Club. Ivan Mensah scored the only goal of Al Kharaitiyat during injury time (90 + 4).
Al Arabi opened the scoring with a slick goal. Fahad Khalfan, lurking inside the Al Kharaitiyat box unmarked, latched on to a loopy cross from the edge of the box, lunged forward and tapped the ball into the net even as Oumar Sako tried to kill the move near his own goalmouth.
Overall, Al Kharaitiyat remained in control of the first half, enjoying 65 per cent of possession. Al Arabi doubled their lead after Fahad Khalfan, who received a well-timed slip pass, launched a missile from outside the Al Kharaitiyat box. His left-footed drive smashed into the net with keeper Mustafa Abdulkardeen in no position to stop the ball. Three minutes later, it was Fahad Khalfan again, straddling into the Al Kharaitiyat box, but the goalkeeper stopped his low powerful shot.
Mensah unleashed a powerful swinging shot from the edge of Al Arabi box in the 69th minute, but his shot bounced off the goalpost.
However, Menshah was not to be denied deep into the game as he found the target with a spectacular low drive off a free-kick to reduce Al Kharaitiyat’s deficit.
