Al Wakrah's Mohamed Benyettou (right) celebrates after scoring their first goal against Umm Salal.
Doha: Gelson Dala scored two goals as Al Wakrah outclassed Umm Salal 4-0 in their QNB Stars League (QSL) clash at the Al Thumama Stadium, yesterday.
The Blue Waves jumped to the top of the table with 7 points, replacing Al Arabi after recording their second victory from three games.
The Marquez Lopez-coached side was phenomenal in the match particularly in the first half that saw them scoring three goals.
Taking advantage of a defensive error, Mohamed Benyettou claimed an early lead by scoring in the fifth minute. Al Wakrah had their lead doubled following an own goal by Ali Bazmandegan, who was trying to block a cross in the 19th minute.
Gala scored his first goal in the 29th minute off a rebound and completed his brace after an assist by Benyettou in the 58th minute.
Umm Salal remained without a win after suffering their second defeat from three matches.
Earlier, Qatar SC claimed three points after edging Al Sailiya 2-1 at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Sebastian Soria was the star for the winners with a goal and an assist to Anthony Okpotu for the opening goal in the 38th minute.
He scored his goal off a penalty in the 54th minute.
Al Sailiya managed to pull one back, with Mohammed Muddather scoring in 68th minute following a brilliant back flip from Giannis Fetfatzidis.
The victory gave Qatar SC, who lost to Al Arabi and played a draw against Al Markhiya, first three points of the season.
Al Rayyan and Al Duhail target points
In a mouth-watering tie today, Al Rayyan will host pre-event favourites Al Duhail at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.
Nicolas Cordova-coached Al Rayyan will be hoping to make a turnaround after losing both their opening games including a defeat to Al Arabi at the Lusail Stadium last week.
Cordova is not disappointed despite his team being on the bottom of points tables, saying luck eluded his side in the first two matches.
“The team in the Al Arabi match performed well throughout and some small details made the difference,” the Al Rayyan coach said.
“The good thing about the team is that we create many chances during the matches, and this is a positive thing and we must take advantage of it in the upcoming matches,” said Cordova before adding that target for his team is to open account with a victory.
“The team always plays to win and in the Al Duhail match, Al Rayyan seek to get the match points and our goal is to win against Al Duhail.”
Hernan Crespo-coached Al Duhail also had a shaky start losing their first match 2-4 to Al Wakrah and had to settle for a draw in their next game against Al Ahli.
Crespo said his team will have to focus to earn win against The Lions.
“Al Rayyan are a very dangerous team, but on the other hand, Al Duhail are ready for this game and to deal with all the possibilities that can arise on the field,” said the coach.
Meanwhile, Al Arabi and Al Markhiya will face off in today’s first match what is expected to be another exciting game.
Al Arabi, coached by Younes Ali, have won both their first two matches and are seeking to complete hat-trick of wins at the Education City Stadium.
Promoted Al Markhiya, on the other hand, will aim to continue their unbeaten run. They are currently third on the table with a win and a draw.
