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Al Rayyan made it to the semi-finals of the Sheikh Jassim Cup by topping Group ‘A’ with a 2-0 win over a subdued Al Markhiya in a late evening match at the Gharafa Stadium yesterday. |
Al Rayyan not only had to win the match against Al Markhiya but also had to hope that Al Arabi, whom they had lost 1-2 in opener, lose their outing against Al Gharafa to qualify.
As it turned out, Al Arabi faltered against Al Gharafa, losing 0-2, and Al Rayyan progressed into the last four.
It was clear from the word go that Al Rayyan were going to come hard on their lowly placed opponents Markhiya, who had lost all their previous outings.
Such was the dominance that Al Rayyan rarely allowed the Al Markhiya forwards to enter their danger area. Their defence was rock solid and the forward line always looked threatening with the ball.
A series of raids and it did not take long for Al Rayyan to get the breakthrough.
Ahmed Alaa opened the floodgates in the 12th minute with a mesmerising run down the centre after a well orchestrated move and found the right corner goal with a neat placement past the diving Al Markhiya custodian Nadim Bahader.
Enthused by the goal, Al Rayyan were all over
the rival territory and Alaa once again came close to scoring in the 21st minute through a corner.
He rose in time to meet a clinical release from Nathan Otavio but his header flew inches over the crossbar.
Two minutes later, Al Rayyan were sitting pretty with a two-goal advantage after Alaa set up Rodrigo Tabata with a neat through. It looked as if the latter had made a mess of the opportunity by going wide instead of taking a shot from the top off the box. However, Tabata kept his cool and found the goal with a fine chip past the onrushing Al Markhiya custodian Bahader.
With Al Markhiya struggling to regain lost ground, Al Rayyan held on
to their 2-0 goal advantage with ease till the breather.
The change of ends couldn’t change fortunes for Al Markhiya and they were always in awe of their opponents for most part of the second session.
With Alaa and Tabata jelling well, the Al Markhiya defence line was tested time and time again. However, the duo will also be ruing their miss chances. Had they been clinical in their finishing, Al Rayyan would have certainly swelled their goal margin.
In the 54th minute, Tabata missed a golden chance to complete his brace after being fed with a measured cross from the left by Alaa. Tabata had all the time in the world to find his spot but he ended up shooting the ball over the framework.
Substitute Nasser Shreyan, also had his share of chances but he too lacked in finish.
For Al Markhiya, the only player who stood out was Ayman al-Saadi but he clearly lacked support upfront.
His swift runs were repeatedly brought to an abrupt end by the strong Al Rayyan defence.