Tabata, Bounedjah help Sadd to easy win over Rayyan

Al Sadd upstaged Al Rayyan 2-0 in a strongly contested return leg of Qatar Clasico of the QNB Stars League at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium yesterday.
The goals for the defending champions were scored by their Brazilian midfielder Rodrigo Tabata (70th minute) and Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah (90+7’).
While Al Rayyan came close to scoring on a few occasions they couldn’t get it over the line against the formidable rivals. Al Rayyan were also down to 10-man after Mohamed Emad Aiash was shown the red card in the 80th minute of the match for foul play.
The win took Al Sadd’s tally to 41 points to be third in the standings behind leader Al Duhail (45 pts) and Al Arabi (43 pts) – both teams are scheduled to play their matches today. Al Rayyan, on 17 points from 20 games, still hover over the relegation zone.
The Lions, however, could consider themselves unfortunate as they had their chances which slipped away. One was in the 88th minute goal-mouth melee action after a Hassan al-Haydos defence kick landed near the left post with Al Rayyan striker Yohan Boli lurking but substitute Musaab Khidir rushed in to head the ball to safety. And later in the injury time of play when Musaab made another good clearance following an Al Rayyan free kick as Boli tripped.
The counter-attack of Al Sadd then saw Bounedjah run away with the ball to beat Al Rayyan goalkeeper Ivanildo Rodrigues with ease. Earlier there was a tough tussle between the two traditional rivals and in the 56th minute Al Sadd survived a big scare when Al Rayyan’s French-born Moroccan midfielder Sofiane Boufal made a kick from the right which hits the legs of goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham to bounce and fall over the goalline.
Al Rayyan had threatened to score in the 86th minute as well when Boli, held back by a defender again, could not beat Barsham as the ball hit the right boot of the knelt-down custodian and ballooned over. Al Sadd broke the deadlock after a dangerous Bounedjah header was parried away by a leaping Rodrigues in the 65th min.
Five minutes later, Tabata produced the first thrill as he clung on to an Afif assist inside the penalty area and broke past surrounding defenders for his left foot kick to beat a diving goalkeeper to his left just brushing past the fingers.
The gripping action and close moments provided a lot of excitement to fans of both the teams present in large numbers. Al Sadd now have two games left in the league – one each against Al Duhail and Al Arabi respectively and will surely look to provide for a fight till the finish.
In another match yesterday, Markhiya beat Al Shamal 3-1 thanks to a brace from Driss Fettouhi and a goal from Ze Turbo. Hamad Saieed Balgheit scored an own goal as Shamal reduced the deficit in the 67th minute. Markhiya are seventh in the table with 24 points, while Shamal are still under relegation threat at 10th place with 17 points.
Today, title rivals Al Duhail and Al Arabi both will be in action as they face Umm Salal and Al Wakrah, respectively. With three rounds remaining, Duhail are two points clear at the top, with three matches remaining.
It’s an important match for Umm Salal (16 points) too as they need a win to wriggle out of the relegation zone. Duhail scored a valuable 4-3 win over Al Rayyan recently in their postponed match from Week 15, while Umm Salal beat Al Markhiya 3-2 in their previous round.
Given the tough equations, Al Duhail will try not to miss any opportunity or retreat because they are aware of Al Arabi waiting to pounce on their slip-ups. The Red Knights coach Hernan Crespo knows well the importance and difficulty of the match and is also aware that Umm Salal will also push hard to make good of their own chances.
Meanwhile, Arabi will face a tough match against Al Wakrah at home. Wakrah are fifth with 30 points and a victory will be the only way for them to fulfil hopes of making it into the top four.