(Top) Al Shahaniya’s Masoud Mohamed Reza (fifth from left) celebrates after scoring a goal against Al Sadd during their Qatar Stars League match yesterday. (Extreme right) Al Shamal’s Ali Mujbel (right) vies for the ball with Al Kharaitiyat’s Assie Koua Vivien during their match yesterday. Mujbel scored two goals as the two teams played out a 3-3 draw. (Right) Al Sailiya’s Issam Jemaa (right) celebrates his goal against Al Ahli with a teammate yesterday. Sailiya won the match 2-1. PICTURES: Anas al-Samaraee / Nasar TK / Mamdouh


By Sports Reporter/Doha

Masoud Mohamed Reza pumped a hat-trick as Al Shahaniya handed Al Sadd their first defeat of the season in the Qatar Stars League yesterday. Luka Hrvatsko’s men won the match 3-1 at Al Gharafa stadium.
Sadd had the early momentum creating a chance in the sixth minute when a Nadir Belhadj cross from just inside the Shahaniya half found Abdelkerem Hassan in the goal area. Hassan had a go at the Shahaniya goalmouth from an acute angle but a diving goalkeeper Khalifa Nasser al-Dosari did well to block the shot.
Belhadj later scored a consolation in the dying moments of the match.
Moments from the break, a Shahaniya move began building in front of Sadd goal with Abdulla Khalid Aliyan’s cross finding Reza, who made no mistake and slotted past Sadd goalkeeper Saad Abdulla al-Dosari.
Buoyed by their lead coming off the break, Shahaniya looked increasingly threatening. A corner kick by Abdul Lateef Ali found Reza in the mix of things once again but his shot was deflected over the crossbar.
In a bid to turn things around, Sadd coach Hussein Ammouta brought in playmaker Khalfan Ibrahim, who had been out of action since early November due to a knee injury, in the 60th minute.
Six minutes later, Reza scored again to make it 2-0.
With Sadd pushing hard for a goal, defender Alvaro Mejia Perez brought down Sadd midfielder Hasan Khalid Haydos in the 78th minute in the Shahaniya half and referee Saoud Ali al-Athba gave Perez the marching orders.
Down to 10 men, Shahaniya played cautiously to not allow Sadd to catch on.
In the 89th minute, Reza sealed the win with his third goal of the match.
Seconds into extra time, Haydos’ cross found Belhadj lurking around in front of the goal. Belhadj scored but that did little to change the result of the match.
In another match, Al Sailiya beat Al Ahli 2-1, with Faouzi Mubarak Aaish scoring the winner through a penalty. Ahli took the lead through Mojtaba Jabbari in the 23rd minute but Issam Jemaa wiped out the lead. The teams went into the break at 1-1.
Almost 35 minutes into the second half, Ahli defender Pedro Miguel Correia brought down Aaish on the edge of the box, which was enough for the referee to point to the spot and Aaish slotted the winner in the top left corner of the goal.
In the third match of the day, Al Kharaitiyat and Al Shamal played out a 3-3 draw. For Kharaitiyat, Hasan Abdel Fattah started the scoring in the 26th minute before Issar Dia made it 2-0. Shamal’s Ali Mujbel pulled one back in the 35th minute.
Fattah scored another one in the 68th minute to give Kharaitiyat a 3-1 lead. However, Mujbel’s 86th minute goal and Said Boutahar’s equaliser three minutes later meant that the two teams had to share points.