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And Lekhwiya did it in style indeed. “Now we are at the end of a long road and we want to finish it in style,” Lekhwiya coach Eric Gerets had said ahead of yesterday’s match. And yesterday, at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa stadium in Doha, his players put in a strong performance to defeat Umm Salal 2-1 and crown themselves champions of the Qatar Stars League. This triumph makes it their third title in the four years that they have been playing in the QSL. That is one impressive stat. |
In 2011, they won the title by five points. The next season they won it by just two points. But this season they are nine points clear of second-placed El Jaish with two matches remaining to play. That shows how dominating they have been this season.
Yesterday, it was another commanding performance. The possession chart showed that both teams had equal share of the ball but Umm Salal didn’t have too many moments in the match where they troubled Lekhwiya.
Lekhwiya started on a pacey note, looking to control the game right from the start. And this early possession produced the first goal. Mohamed Mousa made a run down the right flank with Umm Salal’s Mohamed Ismaiel in pursuit but the Umm Salal defender slipped, and Mousa was able to get past him and pass to Nam Tae-Hee who fired in the shot. Ismaiel, eager to rectify his mistake, came charging in to stop the shot, only for the ball to ricochet off his leg into the goal. Double whammy for Ismaiel and Lekhwiya got the lead in the 16th minute.
The home side didn’t take their foot off the gas after the goal and continued to push forward. In the 31st minute, Vladimir Weiss latched onto a through pass and made a good run into the box but his eventual pass was straight to the goalkeeper.
Ismaiel was in more trouble when, in the 39th minute, Yousef Msakni jumped to take a header and his arm got the Umm Salal defender in the face. A bleeding Ismaiel had to be stretchered off the field but he rejoined after being bandaged.
Lekhwiya got a good chance to increase their lead in the 42nd minute when Tae-Hee’s corner found Majid Bougherra unmarked but the skipper’s header was over the post.
But they didn’t have to rue that missed chance when two minutes later, Weiss was given a great through ball by Luiz Martin Jr. and the Slovakian cleverly beat Adan Ali Adan, and then fired in a shot at the near corner. Umm Salal keeper Mohammed Aneas got down to stop the shot but the ball hit his body and rolled in.
At the end of the first half too, the teams ended up with equal possession but it was Lekhwiya who were looking stronger and had the two-goal lead.
In the second half, Umm Salal saw more of the ball and were looking to penetrate the Lekhwiya defence but they couldn’t do enough in the final third of the pitch. The visitors tried a double substitution in the 61st minute to shake things up but the script remained the same. Lekhwiya were able to control the game and even had a couple of close chances with Msakni (64th minute) and Bougherra (71st minute) almost increasing the advantage.
Umm Salal were finally able to break down the Lekhwiya defence in the 90th minute when Ibrahima Nadiya tapped in from close range to reduce the deficit. But it was too late by then and the home side walked away victorious and with the title of QSL champions for the 2013/14 season.
In the other key matches, Al Sadd lost 1-2 to Al Sailiya. This loss now drops them down to third in the table after El Jaish held on to defeat Al Ahli 4-3 to take the second spot in the rankings.
For Lekhwiya players it was time for wild celebration and even coach Gerets, normally Mr. Stern Face, allowed himself a couple of smiles. And why not. His team are champions and what is more, they did it in style.
