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Al Rayyan will have to wait till Friday to know their future in the Qatar Stars League after El Jaish beat them 1-0 yesterday. |
Yesterday’s loss, Rayyan’s third in their last 10 matches, means that Manuel Jimenez’s team are in the second relegation position in 13th with 26 points in the 14-team league with just one match to go.
Perhaps the only consolation Rayyan have is that their last match is against bottom-placed Muaither, who have already been relegated after a dismal season, and Qatar SC, who are 12th in the league with 28 points, play Lekhwiya, who have already won the league, in their last match.
Congolese forward Jires Kembo-Ekoko scored the winner for El Jaish in the 68th minute.
In the other match of the day, Al Khor and Al Kharaitiyat took a point apiece after playing out a goalless draw. Khor and Kharaitiyat are ninth and 10th in the league with 29 points, and both have tough last round matches — against Jaish and Al Sadd — respectively.
Meanwhile in Saturday’s late matches, Sailiya secured their place in next year’s qualification for the AFC Champions League, a first for the Falcons, as they capped off a great season with a win against relegated Muaither, while Umm Salal got an important away win against an out-of-sorts Qatar Sports Club.
The win also puts Sailiya into the Qatar Cup where they will look for some silverware for the club, while the loss for Qatar SC means they are in 12th spot, perilously close to the relegation zone with just two points separating them and Rayyan, who hold the second relegation position (13th).
For Sailiya, both goals came in the first half as Moumouni Dagano converted a penalty on the 30th minute which gave him 13 goals for the season and then Mohamed Salah dashed any hopes that Muaither may have held about a comeback a little over two minutes into the first half extra-time.
With just one game left now for Muaither, they will be hoping to end on a positive note with a win against Rayyan but the Lions too will be fighting tooth and nail to avoid relegation.
In the other late match, the first half was a nervous affair with neither side wanting to make the first move but just before the break Salal’s Ismail Mahmoud Mardanli opened the visitors’ account.
After the restart, Qatar SC improved and their positive play was rewarded when Douglas Ferreira restored parity in the 62nd minute. With just seven minutes of normal time remaining, Abdulaziz Mohamed al-Yahri popped up with the winner as Umm Salal ran out winners in the close encounter. Umm Salal moved up to sixth after their win.
