Jaish cruise past Al Kharaitiyat; Sadd hold Ahli

A commanding attacking performance saw El Jaish crush Al Kharaitiyat 3-0 in their round 17 clash in the Qatar Stars League yesterday afternoon at Al Sadd stadium.
Magid Mohamed Hassan (10) opened the scoring for El Jaish while goals from Mohamed Abdula Methnani (40) and Wagner Ribeiro (69) added a ring of confidence to their performance. Yesterday’s win was a welcome relief for El Jaish who lost to hosts Al Khor last week.
Despite enjoying a comfortable lead, El Jaish players Abderrazzaq Hamedallah (59) and Ali Sanad al-Nuaimi (55) picked up yellow cards in the round 17 clash. It was a similar story for Al Kharaitiyat as Assie Koua Vivien (37) and Al Mehadi Khamasi (66) also got penalised for rough tackles by referee Salman Falahi.
 Second-placed El Jaish now have 35 points from 17 matches whereas Al Kharaitiyat - coached by Amar Osim - continue to struggle for wins. Yesterday’s loss was the third successive for Al Kharaitiyat who have posted only 5 wins from their 17 rounds. Al Kharaitiyat, placed 11th, have 17 points.
In the second match of the day, Al Sadd  failed to spark at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium and needed a last-gasp goal to draw with Al Ahli 1-1.
 Al Sadd, who had welcomed back Qatar’s Olympic squad captain Abdelkareem Hassan, produced a cagey display in the round 17 clash. Even Barcelona star Xavi failed to lift the gloom at Al Sadd.
 Al Ahli took the lead through Meshal Abdullah off a penalty kick in the 71st minute to compound the matters for Jesualdo Ferreira’s side. Abdullah calmly slotted away his penalty and went for the left of Al Sadd goalkeeper to score the goal for the visitors.
 Thankfully, a smartly-taken finish from close range saw Al Sadd equalise in the tense clash in the 87th minute. Al Sadd’s Ali Asad slipped a neat ball past Al Ahli goalkeeper after a pass from the flank to ease up the worried look on coach Ferreira’s face.
Al Sadd, who lost to Al Wakrah last week, have now gone three games without a win. With only 8 wins in 17 matches, Al Sadd are placed fourth on the QSL points table behind Al Rayyan, El Jaish and Lekhwiya.
QSL action continues today with Umm Salal playing Qatar SC and Lekhwiya taking on Al Sailiya.