Rayyan stay in danger zone after loss to Wakrah

Relegation threat hangs over Al Rayyan after they lost to Al Wakrah 0-1 in the QNB Stars League on Wednesday. Mohamed Benyettou’s 76th-minute strike consolidated Wakrah’s fourth position, but Rayyan remained in danger of dropping out from top flight.
It was a nightmare encounter for Rayyan as they were reduced to 10 men in the 18th minute after goalkeeper Ivanildo Rodrigues was sent off. Adding to their woes, Sofiane Boufal missed a penalty in the 51st minute.
With a match to play, Al Rayyan remained on 17 points in 10th position, only ahead of Umm Salal by goal difference. Umm Salal later salvaged an important point against Al Shamal after Adel al-Sulaimane struck in the ninth minute of stoppage time. Shamal, who are also in the danger zone in ninth place with 18 points, had gone ahead thanks to Matias Nani’s 24th-minute strike.
Meanwhile, Al Sailiya remained bottom of the table despite a fighting 3-1 win over Markhiya. However, Sailiya’s chances of survival strengthened with the win as they are just a point behind Umm Salal and Rayyan, and two points behind Shamal.
Sailiya were grateful to Mehrdad Mohammadi, who scored a brace in the 45th minute and 77th minute after Ze Trubo had put Markhiya ahead in the eighth minute. Ismail Khafi added a late third goal for Sailiya in stoppage time.
Now it all boils down to the final day of the season for four teams, who are in a must-win situation. Al Rayyan face a tough final fixture against Gharafa on May 8, so do Shamal who take on champions-in-waiting Shamal. Umm Salal clash with Qatar SC on May 9, with Sailiya facing Wakrah on the same day.
At the Thani Bin Jassim Stadium yesterday, Wakrah excelled in terms of performance and they were the best even before the Al Rayyan goalkeeper was sent off.
Al Wakrah got their first real opportunity in the 14th minute, but Yousef Abdulrizag shot over the crossbar. Soon, he was alone again, but the Al Rayyan goalkeeper fouled him and earned the red card.
Al Wakrah dominated the game and almost scored, but Murad Naji was off-target. The second half started off on an exciting note and Al Rayyan would have soon taken the lead had it not been for the alertness of Al Wakrah goalkeeper Omair Abdullah, who saved the penalty kick taken by Boufal.
Al Wakrah grew in confidence and then found their winning goal through Benyettou, who came up with a header.