Al Rayyan’s players celebrate their 2-1 win over Al Kharaitiyat at Al Sadd Stadium, yesterday.
Doha: Captain Rodrigo Tabata excelled with a goal and an assist as Al Rayyan sealed coveted three points after overcoming spirited Al Kharaitiyat 2-1 for their second win at the QNB Stars League at Al Sadd Stadium, yesterday.
‘The Lions’, who have played two draw matches from four rounds so far, leapfrogged to second spot behind Al Sailiya, with giants Al Duhail and Al Sadd set to play their respective games today.
Gonzalo Viera scored the first goal for Al Rayyan while Tabata fired a stunner in the 49th minute. Al Kharaitiyat’s goal came from Abdulhadi Al Amin in 54th minute.
Al Kharaitiyat got off to an impressive start and were nearly rewarded for their early endeavour, but Al Rayyan goalkeeper Omar Barri pulled off a couple of fine saves from Valentin Lazar and debutant Jugurtha Hamroun.
The Lions were not fearful of the early pressure and started to make headway into the game. Sebastian Soria saw his shot brilliantly saved by the opposition goalkeeper and the resulting corner saw Daniel Goumou miss a close-range header.
Al Rayyan were able to break the deadlock just before half-time as Tabata’s lofted free-kick from the left was found by Viera who evaded his marker and headed home.
Minutes into the second half and Al Rayyan doubled their lead when Tabata struck an imperious free-kick from the left that dipped, swerved and curled its way into the far corner from 25 yards out.
Al Rayyan were expected to run out comfortable winners from here. However, Al Kharaitiyat got themselves back into the game pretty quickly. After winning back possession in midfield, they were able to attack on the counter, with Lazar running into the box on the left and pulling the ball back to Abdulhadi who calmly passed the ball into the net.
Late in the match, they were nearly rewarded again for their positive approach when Abdulla Al Anzi ran in on goal, but he chipped his effort over the goalkeeper.
They were unable to get back into the game, but will be buoyed by a very positive performance as they look to reverse their fortune.
In other match, Al Arabi displayed an outstanding performance to overcome Umm Salal 5-1.
Mohammad Salah Elneel scored a brace while Gaser Yahia Zakaria, Franco Arizala Hurtado and Mailson Fransinsco were the goal scorers for Al Arabi.
Captain Yannick Sagbo scored the lone goal for Umm Salal.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd coach Jesualdo Ferreira said his team will be looking to secure full points against Al Shahania today to regain top spot.
“Our goal is to score full points because we want to continue to top the league. We have more chances. We will not repeat the mistakes that we committed during our match against Al Gharafa,” he said yesterday.
“After returning from Iran after our AFC Champions League first-leg quarterfinal victory over Esteghlal, all players have the determination to continue to perform well and achieve more victories. Everyone knows that we have not yet reached the level I want at the beginning of the season,” he added.
