Defending champions Al Rayyan yesterday struggled to a piece a 1-0 win over Al Kharaitiyat in round 19 of the Qatar Stars League (QSL).
Despite a fierce fight from Al Kharaitiyat, Al Rayyan on Saturday relied on a spectacular goal from Al Rayyan's Abdulmajid Al Dere (54) for their 11th win of the season.
Al Kharaitiyat - seeking their 5th win of the season - launched the proceedings with an attacking game in the first four minutes at Al Sadd Stadium. In the first 13 minutes, Al Kharaiyiyat earned three corners compared to none for the defending champions.
With the champions struggling for moves, Al Rayyan's Gonzalo Viera showed his frustration when he clipped hard at Al Kharaitiyat's Tursunov at the half-hour mark.
Tursunov required a medical time-out for the rough tackle.
Al Kharaitiyat frontline, however, kept applying the pressure on as Al Rayyan backline just about to manage blocking the moves. On three occasions, attacking Al Kharaitiyat players were pulled up for off-side moves.
In the 54th minute, Al Dere broke Al Kharaitiyat hearts when he launched a fierce drive from 20 yards to beat diving goalkeeper Sofyan for his side's only goal of the match.
Later, Lekhwiya picked up three key points with a hard-fought 1-0 win over hosts Al Arabi.
