ABOVE: Al Rayyan’s Nilmar Da Silva in action against Umm Salal on Saturday. Al Rayyan won 5-0. TOP RIGHT: Al Sadd’s Spanish import Raul Gonzalez of Spain celebrates after scoring against Qatar SC during their Qatar Stars League match on Sunday. BOTTOM: Referee Abdulrahman Al Jassim shows the yellow card to Qatar SC’s Yousef Safri during their Qatar Stars League match against Al Sadd in Doha on Sunday.
BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: Al Rayyan’s winning form in the first two weeks of the new Qatar Stars League (QSL) season has delighted captain Fabio Cesar and coach Diego Aguirre.
On Saturday, Al Rayyan crushed Umm Salal 5-0. It was Al Rayyan’s second successive win following their 2-1 victory over Qatar SC in round one.
The victory over Umm Salal was achieved after new Brazilian important Nilmar Da Silva registered a hat-trick, the new season’s first.
“We have started really well this season. That makes us very happy,” Cesar said after his side’s emphatic 5-0 win over Umm Salal.
“This is what we wanted from the start of the new season,” the Qatar national team midfielder added. “When you win matches, it helps the players get confidence,” he said.
Cesar was quick to praise Nilmar, who has scored four goals in only two matches.
“This is a big day for him. We are happy for him,” Cesar said. “It is the first hat-trick of the new season,” he added.
“We have quality players. (Although) Afonso (Alves) has left but we have got a good replacement in him (Nilmar),” Cesar added.
The Al Rayyan skipper said his team would be ready for their next assignment - Lekhwiya, who went down to Eljaish on Saturday.
“Lekhwiya lost but surely they will recoup and come back strong,” Cesar said. “They are a good side. They won the titles but we will be ready,” he added.
Coach Aguirre was also pleased with his team’s performance on Saturday.
“When we scored the fourth goal, that was absolute delight for me,” Aguirre said. “A score of 5-0 is not normal. Sometimes some teams have a bad day,” Aguirre said about Umm Salal. “We, as a team, had the space and the confidence in this match.
“The most important thing is the team has started playing better,” he added.
“I hope we continue to work very hard like this. We have got what we wanted at the start of the new season,” he said.
When asked if Al Rayyan could go on to win the QSL title, Aguirre said: “Everything is possible. Al Rayyan are playing well but there are good sides in QSL. We will see what happens in the future.” He added: “Al Rayyan is a good side but the league is very difficult. Really, it is not easy. I don’t want to put pressure on players but we know this side has done well in Qatar.”
THE PENINSULA
