Doha: Al Rayyan are just two wins away from claiming the QSL title after a pulsating derby victory against ten-man Al Arabi.
Jorge Fossati’s side are now 17 points clear at the top and need just five more points to claim a first Falcon Shield since 1995.
Al Arabi, meanwhile, have dropped out of the top four and will need a strong finish to the season to regain a spot in the Qatar Cup places.
On a night when influential captain Rodrigo Tabata was missing for Rayyan, Sergio Garcia stepped up to score both goals at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
The Spaniard’s first strike came early in the second half.
The former Espanyol star latched on to a misplaced pass, powered towards goal and slotted the ball past Rajab Hamza despite close attention from Mohammed Shaaban and Ali Jasimi.
Garcia’s second goal came in the 70th minute. His strike partner Sebastian Soria powered down the right flank, crossed for Garcia, and Al Rayyan’s number nine slotted home his 11th goal of what’s turning into a landmark season for the Lions.
Al Arabi had plenty of chances to score, not least when Al Rayyan were leading 1-0. Shaaban’s downward header was well saved by Omar Bari in the 58th minute before Dame Traore smashed an effort against the bar from point blank range when it appeared easier to score.
Al Arabi’s task to salvage anything from the game was practically ended in the 76th minute when Adel Lami was sent off after being shown a second yellow card for a challenge on Hamid Ismail.
The defender was earlier booked for a poor tackle on Soria.
Al Rayyan created further chances to score in the second half. Garcia almost made it a hat-trick with a low drive from the edge of area, while Victor Caceres had an effort saved by Hamza. Substitute Mohammed Alaaeldin also had a chance late on but his effort was well saved.
In the first half it was Hamza who kept Arabi in the game. He saved well after a neat turn and shot from Soria and was alert enough to deflect Sergio Garcia’s low shot onto the crossbar after the striker found himself through on a goal after a defensive error.
Hamza also had to be alert to keep out a powerful Soria header in the 19th minute.
Al Arabi’s best chance in the first half fell to Alan Souza. Slack defending from Rayyan allowed the Brazilian a chance to shoot and it took a fine save from Omar Bari to deflect the effort onto the post and behind.
After a slow period, the game sprung to life late in the first half. Paulinho fired over after being set up by Boualem Khouki before Al Rayyan created two good chances on the stroke of half-time.
Mohammed Gumaa’s left-footed shot was inches wide, while Koh Myong-jin had an effort deflected to safety after good work from Soria.
In truth Al Rayyan always appeared to have an extra gear and it was no surprise when they went in front in the second half. Their incredible season shows no signs of being halted and despite the fact we have not reached March, the title is almost in their hands.
In another match, Masoud Shojaei scored a last-gasp winner for Al Gharafa to help the Cheetahs win a five-goal thriller against Al Wakrah.
The Iranian international converted a penalty in the fifth minute of added time to push Gharafa up to eighth in the QSL, and above the Blue Waves. It was a topsy-turvy match at Al Gharafa Stadium between two mid-table sides. Wakrah can consider themselves unlucky not to have taken at least a point from the game, while Gharafa will hope this result can kick-start a strong run going into the business end of the season.
Sebastian Saez put Al Wakrah in front with a penalty in the tenth minute but Al Gharafa equalised just before half-time through new signing Krisztian Nemeth. The Hungarian scored his fourth goal in three games after capitalising on a poorly defended set piece.
Vladimir Weiss swung in a corner, defender George Kwasi flicked it on and slack marking allowed Nemeth to nod home from close range.
With momentum on their side after the break, Al Gharafa took the lead in the 48th minute. Weiss squared the ball to Abdulaziz Hatem and the Qatari international strode forward before hitting a shot from 25 yards which found its way past Al Wakrah goalkeeper Hassan Dicko via a deflection off Mohammed Arfah.
Hatem’s goal lifted Gharafa but the Cheetahs were pegged back late on by a superb Al Wakrah set piece. Moroccan international Mouhcine Moutouali chipped a free-kick straight onto the head of Saez, and the South American produced a superb looping header to beat Abdulaziz Ali in the Gharafa goal.
A draw would probably have been a fair result but Shojaei had the final say with virtually the last kick of the game.The Peninsula
