Doha: Defending champions Lekhwiya and Al Arabi registered huge victories as the opening day of third round of the prestigious Qatar Stars League (QSL) saw flurry of goals, yesterday in Doha.
Lekhwiya stole the limelight by thrashing Al Kharaitiyat 7-0, thanks to braces from Vadimir Weiss and Youssef Msakani.
The defending champions scored five goals in the second half after leading 2-0 in the opening session. Mohamed Razaq, Khalid Muftah and Taehee Nam were the other scorers.
In what was dubbed as the ‘Match of the Week’ Al Arabi stunned Qatar SC 4-0 at their home ground.
All the goals came in the first half with Paul Sergio, Mosaab Mohamoud Elhassan, Sergio Dutra Junior and Fanni Rod Dodji being the goal scorers.
Earlier, in a tight affair at the Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium, Al Gharafa took on Al Ahli and won 2-0 despite being a man down for the last half hour of the match.
Dioko scored against his old club but then a second yellow card for Brazilian defender Anderson ensured a nervy end to the match. However, Al Gharafa then got the all-important second goal in extra time to prevail in the end.
Its seemed as though the first half would end goalless but a quick counterattack down the left saw Al Shammari again involved as he supplied a pin point cross for Dioko who chested the ball into the net (44’). However the Congolese injured himself in the process and had to be substituted, Hussain Ali Shehab replaced him right on the stroke of half time.
In the second half Al Ahli again failed to test the keeper enough as Gharafa kept things tight at the back.
Then in the 60th minute a rash high footed challenge in the middle of the park by Gharafa defender Anderson saw him pick up his second yellow of the night. The replay showed that he made some contact and the Brazilian should have known better having already been booked.
The referee’s decision allowed Ahli to gain the lion’s share of the possession and just two minutes later Ahli defender Pedro had a firm shot saved from the edge of the box by Gharafa’s keeper.
However for all the possession that the Brigadiers had, they failed to test the keeper enough, with new signing Mubele struggling to be clinical when his chances came.
Then in extra time new Gharafa forward Yasin Chikhaoui chased what looked like a lost cause down the left, he put on the afterburners and sent an intelligent cutback for Al Shammari who struck the ball first time to secure all three points for the boys in yellow and blue (93’).
Meanwhile, in another match, El Jaish welcomed visitors Al Khor to the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in what turned out to a frustrating night for the home side as they were held to a goalless draw.
In the first half Al Khor managed just two shots on goal, both coming from way outside the box, by Madison and Antonio respectively. Whilst Jaish peppered the goal with 5 shots on target and really should have been in the lead at half time.
In the second half El Jaish’s dominance became more pronounced as they gained more of the possession but the game lacked the creative spark needed to unlock the defence as both teams could only managed two shots on target in the second half.
Certainly this was not a game that will stick in the memory. Al Khor will be the happier of the two as they go into Round 4.
THE PENINSULA
