Guedes strikes as Al Rayyan get off to perfect start

New signing Roger Guedes made an instant impact as the Brazilian forward’s 30th-minute strike helped Al Rayyan to 1-0 win over Al Markhiya 1-0 in their Expo Stars League opener at the Al Janoub Stadium on Thursday. Earlier, Qatar SC and Al Gharafa had played out a highly-entertaining 4-4 draw at the Khalifa International Stadium. Today, the big guns Al Duhail and Al Sadd will open their campaigns. Defending champions Duhail take on Al Ahli at Al Thumama Stadium, while record 16-time winners Al Sadd face Umm Salal at Al Bayt Stadium.
On Thursday, Al Rayyan gave an indication of their hunger for victory and they could have gone ahead in the first minute had Rodrigo Moreno not been caught offside as Guedes tried a through ball.
There were subsequently a couple of attempts from both sides, but it was Guedes who eventually found the net in the 30th minute to give Al Rayyan the lead. The Brazilian forward, who joined The Lions in the summer, slotted in a right-footed shot from the right side of the six-yard box to the bottom right corner after a headed pass by Rodrigo.
The match was evenly balanced from there on as Al Markhiya, who finished last season in seventh place, continued their search for an equaliser, while Al Rayyan held firm.
Leonardo Jardim’s men could have doubled their lead in the 55th minute had Al Markhiya’s Abdelghani Laallam own goal not been overturned by VAR. Desperately seeking to restore parity, Al Markhiya made a double substitution in the 62nd minute, with Rochinha going out for Naoufal Bannis and Ali Said replacing Moayed Hassan. The substitution could have paid off in the 67th minute when Ali Said placed a through ball to Yusupha Njie who was, however, caught offside.
Qatar SC, Al Gharafa share the spoils in eight-goal fiesta
Earlier, Qatar SC, Al Gharafa served out an entertaining 4-4 draw. Bruno Tabata scored a brace (sixth and 57th minutes) and Ben Malango (90+11 minute) were on target for Qatar SC, and the team also benefited from an own goal from Mohamed Ali Jamin (20th minute).
Yohan Boli (35th minute), Ahmed al-Janehi (45+5 and 77th minutes), and Yacine Brahimi (90+6 minute) scored for Al Gharafa. The match witnessed plenty of drama as Qatar SC twice gave up their leads, including a two-goal advantage, before drawing level just before the final whistle.
Qatar SC took lead through Tabata, whose right-footed shot from the centre of the box effortlessly sailed to the high centre of the goal off a well-timed pass from Bashar Rasan.
Youssef Safri’s team subsequently continued to pile pressure on their opponents after the opening goal and their efforts yielded the desired result in the 20th minute, with Tabata finding the target a second time.
With two goals down, Al Gharafa suddenly seemed to wake up from their slumber as they became more purposeful in attack, with more attempts at goals that were either blocked or narrowly missed.
The deficit was eventually cut for The Cheetahs in the 35th minute through Boli off a Brahimi assist. Brahimi’s through ball located the Ivorian, who wasted no time in firing a right-footed shot to the centre of the goal.
Parity was restored with virtually the last kick of first half, with Farid Boulaya providing another through-ball assist to al-Janehi, who fired in a thundering right-footed shot from the centre of the box to make the match even.
Qatar SC made a double substitution at half-time, with Abdullah Abdulsalam coming in for Raoul Danzabe, while Ben Malango replaced Jassim Ahmed. Al Gharafa, on the other hand, sent in Nasser al-Ahrak in place of Abdullah Ali Saei. In the 58th minute, Tabata hit his brace of the night with an assist from Omar al-Emadi to restore Qatar SC’s lead.
With the match seemingly heading the way of Qatar SC, al-Janehi shocked the home crowd by powering home Homam al-Ameen’s cross in the 77th minute to get on the scoresheet for the second time on the night and draw level for Al Gharafa. Deep into injury time, Brahimi gave Al Gharafa the lead before Qatar SC’s Malango scored four minutes later to ensure the match ended even.