Al Rayyan’s Rodrigo Tabata shoots a free kick during their QNB Stars League match against Al Duhail at Al Sadd Stadium yesterday. Al Duhail beat Al Rayyan 5-3 in an eight-goal thriller.
Al Duhail continued their fine form tonight with a comprehensive 5 -3 victory over league rivals Al Rayan at Al Sadd Stadium yesterday. With both sides coming into this game unbeaten, it was Al Duhail who applied the most pressure in the early exchanges with neither side able to break the deadlock.
The match changed in the 28th minute when Moaaz Ali Abdalla was brought down in the penalty area. Al Rayyan’s forward Yousef Al Arabi stepped up to fire it into the back of the net and gain the advantage. With the first half drawing to a close, Karim Boudiaf’s lofted pass over the opposition deface was expertly volleyed on the turn by Captain Yousef Msakni who left the goalkeeper stranded.
Into the second half and Al Duhail won another penalty with Youssef Al Arabi once more firing home for his 4th goal of the season. From here the game opened up even further and it was Al Duhail’s South Korean star, Nam Tae-hee, who finished off a great passing move with a left footed shot past Al Rayan’s goal.
Al Rayyan then really came to life and started to apply constant pressure. They got two quick fire goals from substitute Abderrazak Hamdallah and Sebastian Soria which led an exciting finale.
Deep into injury time, The Lions grabbed a third as Soria pounced on a defensive error before Al Duhail restored their two-goal victory through Ali Yahya as the match drew to a close.
Coach Michael Laudrup will be pleased with his side’s response after going down but will feel they should have got hold of the game earlier on. Meanwhile for Duhail’s assistant coach Bruno Oliveira, yesterday’s result confirms their third consecutive win, propelling them to the top of the QNB Stars League.
Later, at the same venue, the hosts Al Sadd defeated Al Gharafa after
Al Gharafa took the lead in the 29th minute after Luis Jimenez scored through a penalty kick. Al Gharafa led 1-0 at half time but Al Sadd hit back when Boualem Ahmad Khoukhi equalised in the 56th minute.
Al Sadd had a sigh of relief in the 86th minute when Mohammad Morteza headed the ball into the net from close range to take the game away from Al Gharafa and seas a 2-1 win at home.
In the other match of the day, Al Kharaitiyat and Al Khor shared honours in an one-all stalemate.
