Romarinho hat-trick powers El Jaish into semis

Brazilian pro Romarinho struck a superb hat-trick to power El Jaish into the semi-finals of the Emir Cup at the expense of Umm Salal yesterday.Romarinho scored in the 33rd, 46th and 50th minutes in a 5-3 win for Sabri Lamouchi’s  El Jaish who thus stayed on course for their first trophy of the season.It was the stocky forward’s second hat-trick against Umm Salal, having scored the first early in the Qatar Stars League on October 27 last year.El Jaish will now clash with Al Sadd on May 14, a day after Al Rayyan meet Lekhwiya in the first semi-final, the last four line-up staying true to the top four Qatar Stars League placings.The winners of the semi-finals will clash for the prestigious trophy at the redeveloped Khalifa Stadium on May 19, marking a landmark occasion in Qatar’s build-up to the FIFA World Cup in 2022.El Jaish toyed with their Umm Salal yesterday during the first 45 minutes but complacency almost got the better of them in the second half when they conceded three goals.The Army outfit got ahead early in the match when Uzbek international Sardor Rashidov swung in a powerful free-kick in the ninth minute from 25 yards out beating Umm Salal goalkeeper Baba Malik all ends up.El Jaish consolidated through former Corinthians player Romarinho when he took a corner and passed to Rashidov. The Uzbek played the ball back to the Brazilian who beat Malik with a cracking shot in the 33rd minute.Romarinho took his tally to two just a minute after half-time with a powerful shot from outside the box and achieved his hat-trick with a fine header from a corner four minutes later.Having taken a 4-0 lead, El Jaish appeared to be heading for a massive win but shoddy defending allowed Umm Salal entertain hopes of a stirring comeback when Mahmoud al-Mawas and Yannick Sagbo scored a goal each in a span of the next 10 minutes.However, Abdulrazzaq Hamdalla killed off that possibility with a 90th minute strike and although Ibrahima Nadiya got himself on the score sheet for Umm Salal in stoppage time, it couldn’t stop El Jaish from coming away comfortable winners in the end.