By Sports Reporter/Doha
Lekhwiya have all but secured their fourth Qatar Stars League title after rallying to a 3-1 victory over former giants Al Arabi at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium yesterday.
In somewhat surreal conditions for Qatar – with the rain pelting down and the players often getting into ungainly situations because of the slippery turf – defending champions Lekhwiya held their nerve after conceding a second-minute goal to nail their 17th win in 23 matches and take their tally to 55.
In the process, they maintained their seven-point advantage at the top over closest rivals Al Sadd who thrashed Al Khor 5-1, a result that would only serve to remind them of their blemishes over the past two weeks during which they dropped points to lowly Al Ahli and Al Sailiya and suffered a stunning loss to Qatar Sports Club.
Al Sadd can now win the title only if they win all their remaining three matches, and at the same time hope Lekhwiya lose their three. If politics is the art of the impossible, so can be sport, they would like to believe.
Be that as it may, Lekhwiya are unlikely to suffer a meltdown of such heartbreaking proportions, and the players would have gone home secure in the knowledge a win against Al Shahaniya on April 4 would give them their fourth QSL title in five years.
“We were seven points clear at the top but we didn’t relax,” Lekhwiya coach Michael Laudrup said after the match. “With three more matches left, we would like to keep up the momentum.”
Yet, it was Al Arabi who drew first blood yesterday – Brazilian Sergio Dutra beating goalkeeper Amine Lecomte with a powerful header off a measured chip from the right by Youssef Rahman in the second minute.
And although Lekhwiya survived several close calls after that, they hung on before equalsing through Korean Nam Tae-hee, who scored from the penalty spot after Mohamed Abdulrahman had fouled him in the 36th minute.
Lekhwiya had to wait until the 54th minute for their second goal and it came through Ismail Mohamed off an assist from Karim Boudaif on the top of the penalty area.
From there on, Lekhwiya kept up the pressure on their rivals, and finally Khaled Muftah put the issue beyond doubt with a neat placement from a difficult angle after receiving an assist from Yousuf Msakni.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd completely dominated Al Khor for an easy win that saw a brace from Brazilian Luiz Muriqui, who struck in the 52nd and 57th minutes.
Al Sadd went ahead through Talal al-Balooshi in the 42nd minute and Yousef Ahmed consolidated in the 48th before Muriqui’s double and a 90th minute strike from Meshaal al-Shammari completed the rout.
Al Khor’s only goal came from Julio Peu in the 80th minute.
Lekhwiya's Khaled Muftah (left) celebrates his goal against Al Arabi with teammates. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil
