Lekhwiya’s Youssef Msakni (right) in action during his team’s QSL match against Al Ahli yesterday. Right: Umm Salal players celebrate a goal against El Jaish yesterday.PICTURES: Anas Khalid & Othman Iraqi
By Sports Reporter/Doha
Lekhwiya crushed Al Ahli 4-0 to continue their win streak in the Qatar Stars League (QSL) as Al Arabi moved to third spot with an easy win 4-1 over Mesaimeer.
In other round 12 clashes yesterday, Qatar Sports Club held on to a creditable goalless draw to share points with former champions Al Gharafa while Umm Salal, in a stunning result, edged El Jaish 3-2.
This was Lekhwiya’s fourth successive win on the trot. With this result fourth-placed Lekhwiya have accumulated 22 points while ninth-placed Al Ahli stay put with 14 points.
Lekhwiya settled the match early during the first half when they scored three goals starting with the Korean Nam Tae Hee in the 7th minute.
Youssef Msakny scored in the 11th minute to double the lead while Mohamed Muntari fired one home in the 38th minute.
Substitute Vladimir Weiss scored Lekhwiya’s fourth goal in the 81st minute to complete Lekhwiya’s easy win.
The first half witnessed a decent number of attempts from Al Ahli players who tried to score their first goal.
Congolese striker Ndombe Mubele missed an opportunity to score in the 13th minute. In 29th minute, Mubele came close to scoring again but fumbled with his shot.
Lekhwiya, however, were never in doubt when they fired home two goals in the first 11 minutes of the match and closed the first half with a 3-0 card.
Al Ahli players weren’t able to put any pressure create a move that would put pressure on Lekhwiya’s goalkeeper Claude Amine.
Al Ahli head coach made three substitutions with the aim of rectifying things, but it was Lekhwiya who scored the fourth goal late in the second half.
AL ARABI POST BIG WIN
Al Arabi yesterday produced a dominant performance to defeat Mesaimeer 4-1 at Lekhwiya Stadium.
This win also saw Al Arabi jump to third in the QSL standings.
The Dream Team had complete control over the match, ending up with 66 per cent possession and having had 22 shots on goal with a whopping 15 of them on target.
But despite enjoying a similar share of possession in the first half, all the goals came in the second half.
It started with Yusef Ahmed Ali putting the ball in the back of the net, only to be flagged offside. But two minutes later Sergio Paulo scored the first goal for this team, finally breaking down the gritty Mesaimeer defence. Mosaab Elhassan provided the cross and the Brazilian made no mistake this time.
The second goal came off a penalty with Abdullrahman Said adjudged to have brought down Yusef Ahmed. Al Arabi skipper Boualem Khoukhi scored from the spot in the 66th minute.
This goal seemed to awaken Mesaimeer and they started making regular forays into the Al Arabi half.
Erivelto Silva had a chance in the 76th minute when he found himself one on one with the Al Arabi ‘keeper Rajab Kassim but the Brazilian’s shot was straight at the ‘keeper.
Mesaimeer enjoyed a brief period of ball possession but Arabi wrestled back control with a Sergio Dutra Junior goal in the 80th minute.
Al Arabi got their icing on the cake when Seyed Mohammad scored in the 91st minute to wrap up a commanding performance by Gianfranco Zola’s boys.
QATAR SC IMPRESS IN DRAW
Under-pressure Qatar SC were able to hold Al Gharafa to a goalless draw, a rare occurrence in QSL this season.
There have only three times this season so far that a match has ended with neither team being able to get on the score sheet.
The previous time it happened was in the Round 7 encounter between Al Gharafa and Umm Salal.
Gharafa had the better chances and should have come out of this match with three points but striker Alain Dioko missed a couple of clear chances.
The Congolese striker would have easily found the back of the net if this were last season but Dioko still has to find the form which saw him win the Mansour Muftah award last year.
The first clear chance of the match came late in the first half and it fell to Qatar SC when Mousa Allaq latched onto a great through pass and had an open goal with only the Al Gharafa goalkeeper Abdulaziz Abdulla to beat.
But Allaq’s chip shot ended up being deflected by Abdulla who had made himself as wide as he could. Abdulla who got the nod ahead of regular goalkeeper Qasem Burham did a good job there to justify his selection.
The second half belonged completely to Gharafa. In the 62nd minute Dioko had the first of his two clear chances. Fahid al-Shammari passed to Dioko in the centre but the Congolese striker couldn’t connect with the ball, which was slightly behind him, and the chance was wasted.
Then there was a long hold up because Qatar SC goalkeeper Mohamed Mubarak was involved in a collision with Gharafa’s Yasin Shekaoui and needed lengthy medical attention. Mubarak continued to play with a bandaged jaw.
In the 82nd minute Gharafa had what would be their best chance of the match. Al-Shammari provided a incisive pass into the box but Dioko was again off-target.
There were eight minutes of added time, which saw Shekaoui sent off with a second yellow but neither team could find a goal and the match ended in a stalemate. Qatar SC will be relieved to have escaped with a point from this match.
UMM SALAL STUN EL JAISH
In a dominating show of attacking football, Umm Salal beat El Jaish to pick up three valuable points yesterday.
Despite leading the match 3-0 at one time, Umm Salal managed to hold on to their defence and closed the match 3-2 at Al Gharafa Stadium.
Welinton Souza Silva (8), Yannick Anister Latte (15) and Jermie Ali Adiere (63) scored for the winners.
Jaish, placed second on the QSL points table, hit back through Sardor Rashidov (74). Romario Ricardo Silva (77) scored El Jaish’s second goal of the high-scoring clash.
It was El Jaish’s third successive loss following their 1-0 defeat at the hands of Qatar SC last week. Before that they had lost to leaders Rayyan.
Jaish who were inching close to Rayyan at one point, now trail them by ten points with the table toppers scheduled to play against Sadd today in a highly anticipated game.
QSL giants Rayyan and Sadd ready for battle royale in today’s Qatar Classico Kick-off: 6:30pm
Al Sadd’s resolve to reduce the gap against Qatar Stars League (QSL) points leaders Al Rayyan will be put to the test when the two sides play their annual ‘Classico’ clash today.
Rayyan, who have stitched 12 wins in a row, are leading the standings table with a tally of 33 points. Al Sadd, who are now playing under a new coach, are in third spot behind second-laced El Jaish with a tally of 21 points.
Coached by former Sadd coach Jorge Fossati, Rayyan have demolished all before them this season, remaining unbeaten in 12 matches so far.
Star striker and captain Rodrigo Tabata last week scored his 12th goal of the season in a game against Al Gharafa. Tabata’s digits are the best for the 2015-16 season so far.
Sadd, who brought in Jesualdo Ferreira a little over a week ago, must produce the goods after losing their last two games. Sadd were upset by Al Sailiya last week.
The game at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium today is expected to draw a full house and fans wanting to be part of the ‘Classico’ clash have been urged by QSL to arrive early for the 18:30 kick-off.
Family entertainment zones have been arranged for at the venue. The match - the biggest QSL spectacle this season - will be telecast live on national television.
