Doha: Al Rayyan served further notice of their title credentials as they came from a goal down to defeat a tough Al Kharaitiyat 2-1 at the Al Khor Stadium yesterday.
The first half was an even affair as Kharaitiyat proved to be tougher opponents than Sailiya who Rayyan had swept aside 4-0 the week before.
It was Kharaitiyat who scored within two minutes of the restart to shock the large number of Rayyan fans present at the stadium. Rayyan were muscled off the ball in the centre of the park and Thunders midfielder Abdallah Albattat provided an inch-perfect pass into the six-yard box for new signing Jaralla al-Marri to calmly slot into the far right corner. The player’s celebrations were relatively muted as he scored against his old club.
This goal awakened Rayyan and cheered on by their fans, they started making more inroads into the Kharaitiyat half. But it took till the 63rd minute for the Lions to find the equaliser.
Brazilian defender Nathan Otavio latched onto the end of a great curling cross from midfielder Parou Sadeeqi to score Rayyan’s first goal. A header from close range.
Just six minutes later, Rayyan scored what turned out to be the winning goal of the match. Victor Caceres received a scuffed shot from skipper Rodrigo Tabata and the Paraguayan striker didn’t make a mistake as he passed it into the back of the net. This was his second goal in as many matches.
With the Rayyan fans now getting vocal, their team was able to close out the match comfortably and record their second win this campaign.
This victory will be even sweeter because it came against a team that is known for its grittiness since new Head Coach Amar Osim took over last season. Although it’s early days, this win also takes them to the top of the table.
Meanwhile, Al Gharafa beat Qatar Stars League rookies Mesaimeer 1-0 at the Thani Bin Jassim stadium in Round 2. The first half was a story of missed chances for the Cheetahs as both Dioko and Masoud Shojaei came close a number of times but lacked that cutting edge in front of goal.
At the other end Mesaimeer forward Erivelto Silva came closest with a powerful shot on 39 minutes. However the shot was straight at the keeper and the game looked to be goalless at the interval.
But with 4 minutes extra time in the first half, Gharafa mustered one last attack down the right wing, and new signing Yassine Chikhaoui did well to get past his man and send a low cross for Qatari attacking midfielder Moayad Hassan who slotted home with a cool finish (46’).
Mesaimeer never posed much of a threat the entire night as they were reduced to shooting from distance.
New signing Alain Dioko was uncharacteristically quiet and failed to show the same level of clinical finishing which made him QSL top scorer for the past two consecutive seasons.
Al Gharafa saw the game out and picked up their first three points of the season.
In the last match of the day, El Jaish produced a strong performance to record their first win this season as they defeated Al Sailiya 4-0 at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.
New striker Abderrazzaq Hamed-allah played leading role in the win by scoring a brace.
In today’s matches, defending champions Lekhwiya will take on Qatar SC after Al Arabi’s battle against Al Khor.
THE PENINSULA
