Mohammed Ali (left) of Lekhwiya attempts to pass the ball despite the challenge of his Qatar SC opponent during their Qatar Stars League (QSL) match at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium, yesterday. RIGHT: Sebastian Soria celebrates after scoring the first goal in the 1-0 win against Qatar SC at the same venue. Three more QSL matches take place today. Al Gharafa vs Al Khor, Al Sadd vs Al Wakrah and Al Kharaitiyat vs Al Rayyan.
DOHA: Wagner Ribeiro scored two goals as Eljaish cruised to a 3-0 victory over Al Arabi in the Qatar Stars League (QSL) yesterday.
In other QSL matches, Umm Salal beat Al Sailiyah 3-2 in a thrilling match at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium.
Also, defending champions Lekhwiya beat Qatar SC 2-0.
Eljaish’s coach Razvan Lucescu did not have to wait long for his team to score.
In the eighth minute, Martins Adriano converted a penalty, after being fouled by an Al Arabi defender, who received a yellow card.
The Eljaish striker calmly struck the ball in the bottom right hand corner, sending Al Arabi’s goalkeeper Masoud Zareie the wrong way.
The home side continued to press forward, creating numerous chances.
In the 26th minute, Eljaish midfielder Ribeiro doubled his team’s lead with a glorious right-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area.
Receiving a short pass from his team-mate, the Brazilian struck the ball which gave Zareie no chance of saving.
Al Arabi tried to get back into the game, but Lucescu’s side was winning the battle in midfield. Five minutes from half-time, Adriano nearly got his second goal of the game.
Beating his opponent with pace and strength, the striker lashed a low shot that was was brilliantly saved by Zareie. The goalkeeper got his fingertips and deflected the ball onto the post.
However, three minutes later, Zareie had to pick up the ball again from the net, as Eljaish made it 3-0.
With some good foot-work from Mossaab El Hassan, the midfielder passed the ball to Ribeiro who slotted the ball past Zareie.
The goal piled on more misery for Al Arabi coach Hassan Shehata who took over earlier this season.
In stoppage time, Ribeiro nearly grabbed his hat-trick, when Eljaish took advantage of an counter attack, and the midfielder slotted the ball past the Zareie. However, his celebrations were short lived, when the lines-man raised his flag for off-side.
As Eljaish continued to dominate in the second half, Al Arabi had no answer, losing the midfield battle.
In the 60th minute, Adriano nearly scored his second of the game, but Al Arabi defender Mabolo Baba Ketia intervened to keep the score to 3-0.
Despite Eljaish’s dominance, they were unable to add to their tally, thanks to the brilliant saves by Zareie.
Elsewhere, Lekhwiya won their fourth match in QSL this season with goals from Sebastian Soria and Nam Tae-Hee. Soria, who scored the winning goal for Qatar in their World Cup qualifier against Lebanon on Wednesday, opened the proceedings in the first half.
South Korea’s Tae-Hee doubled to lead in the second half. The defending champions, coached by Eric Gerets have 13 points.
In other QSL action, Umm Salal’s Otman Elassaras scored two goals to help his side win 3-2.
THE PENINSULA
