DOHA: Lekhwiya sent out a clear message to their Qatar Stars League (QSL) opponents that they are still a force to be reckoned with without Danish legend Michael Laudrup, thrashing Al Fujairah 3-1, yesterday at the Abdallah Bin Khalifa Stadium.
Lekhwiya who win the last QSL edition by a clear margin over Doha giants Al Sadd will be without Laudrup in the new season, which starts on September 11.
However, the defending champions showed signs of their form in their one-sided victory over Al Fujairah.
They took their opponents under pressure right from the beginning and gained early lead when Youssef Msakni scored in the seventh minute of the first half. Al Fujairah replied towards the end of the first half to make it one apiece as the teams headed for the tunnel.
The second half completely went to the QSL champions who scored two goals to seal a 3-1 victory.
Attacking midfielder Nam Tae Hee scored the second goal in the 62nd minute while striker Ismael Mohamed took things behind Al Fujairah’s reach with a goal in the 78th minute.
Meanwhile, El Jaish lost to Italian side Udinese 4-0 in the club’s third friendly which was played last Thursday during their overseas preseason training camp in Austria. Udinese came out with a bang and scored two goals early on, the first goal was conceded in just two minutes and again in the 8th minute. The Italians clearly dominated the midfield and looked the most like a team.
Brazilian striker Wagner was injured and replaced on the 35th minute of the first half with Uzbek forward Rashidov.
During the second half, El Jaish made a number of substitutions bringing on goalkeeper Khalifa Abu Bakr as well as Mesaab Mahmoud, Mohamed Al Sayed Jeddo and Abdel Rahman Waleed.
El Jaish’s delegation is scheduled to return today. El Jaish will conclude their third and final stage of preparations for the QSL with two more friendly games.
First El Jaish will take on the Military team on August 28 before playing against Al Shahaniya.
THE PENINSULA
