Doha: The interesting round 24 of the Qatar Stars League was held last week.
The Peninsula looks at the outcome of the round following thrilling battles.
Teams decided for Qatar Cup
We now know the top 4 sides who will take place in this year’s Qatar Cup tournament.
The top two sides, Lekhwiya and Al Sadd had pretty much been confirmed before round 24. But with both EL Jaish and Qatar SC winning, and 5th placed Al Gharafa losing comprehensively at the hands of Al Sadd, means that the top four places have been confirmed for this season.
It will now be up to the top four sides to keep up their respective winning steaks, and find their form ahead of the tournament, which brings the curtain down on the busy Qatar Stars League season.
Relegation battle continues
The final relegation place in the QSL has yet to be decided, and looks like it will go to the wire between Al Shahaniya and Al Wakrah.
The Oryxes arguably pulled off the result of the round holding champions elect Lekhwiya in a pulsating 3-3 draw at the Abdulla Bin Khalifa Stadium.
Whilst Wakrah couldn’t hold on for a point against a Qatar SC, thanks to the head of striker Diaby.
Shahaniya are now just one point behind the Waves, and could overhaul their relegation rivals in round 25.
Shahaniya take on the already relegated Al Shamal, whilst Wakrah will face Al Khor in what promises to be two promising ties of the round.
Al Khor score memorable goal
At first glance, Al Khor’s draw with Al Kharatiyat is hardly the most inspiring game in round 24 of the QSL.
Yet Julio Cesar’s 45th minute equaliser arguably has to be considered one of the goals of the season. The Brazilian striker bagged his 12th goal in the league, with an outrageous back heeled goal which he flicked though the legs of onrushing defender, simultaneously bamboozling the goal keeper.
It’s a moment of true samba magic from the former Al Ahli striker and well worth seeing.
Al Arabi down Al Ahli
Al Arabi defeated Al Ahli 2-0 on Friday night, in the big derby match in the QSL.
Goals from Junior Dutra and Paulo Sergio gave Arabi a moral boosting win against an Ahli side who had previously been unbeaten in five QSL matches.
Interestingly it was the nature of the goals scored by Arabi in the second half which drew comparisons with Al Ahli’s counter attacking style.
The Dream Team seemed very happy to soak up the pressure from Ahli in the second half, being able to quickly counter attack and sucker punch their neighbours with two breakaway goals.
Junior Dutra’s opener was a perfect example of Arabi’s tactics in action, sweeping up the pitch on the counter and finishing with a sublime effort from outside of the box.
Hamza stars for Wolves
Moroccan Alsenhaji Hamza was the stand out player for Al Sadd as the Wolves comprehensively beat Al Gharafa 5-1 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
The young midfielder has only played 11 games for Sadd, but he looked like a season professional as he played a part in all three of his side’s goals in the first half. First he assisted Yousef Ahmad for the opener.
Then he bagged two goals, the second one being a fantastic curling effort.
The 20 year old, will be looking to get some game-time towards the end of the season, and could be a player to watch next season for Sadd. THE PENINSULA
