Doha: Al Kharaitiyat collected full points at the Qatar Stars League (QSL) when they edged out Al Sailiya 2-1 at the Al Gharafa Stadium yesterday.
The winners scored a goal in each session to record the victory.
After goalless 40 minutes, Hasan Abdel-fattah Mahmoud gave Al Kharaitiyat a lead in the next minute as they walked away into the breather with an advantage.
Al Kharaitiyat doubled the lead in the 67th minute when Domingos Nascimento Santos scored in the 67th minute.
Raoul Cedric Loe helped Al Sailiya made a comeback by scoring three minutes later.
Al Sailiya posed threat with late attacks but the Al Kharaitiyat defenders held their nerves to ensure a 2-1 victory.
Later, El Jaish edged out Al Wakrah 2-1 to record victory at the same venue.
In today’s matches, Al Ahli will meet Al Khor at Al Ahli Stadium before Mesaimeer lock horns against Qatar SC at the same venue.
Tomorrow, Al Gharafa will meet Umm Salal while leader Al Rayyan will take on defending champions Lekhwiya in a crunch match.
Al Gharafa coach Pericles Chamusca said the match against Umm Salal will be tough challenge.
It will be a tough match. Umm Salal is strong team. They are coming from a win and they will be full of confidence,” said the coach.
“For us, it’s important to win this match, not only because we need these three points but also because we have to come back to our winning ways. We have now gone three matches without a win. Salal is more offensive now and they attack more. But we will be ready for them,” he added.
“As I said before, my target is to be in the top four and that’s what we are constantly working for,” said Chamusca.
Meanwhile, Umm Salal coach Bulent Uygun hoped his team will showcase good skills against Al Gharafa terming them a good side.
“At this stage of the league there are six teams trying to fight for the title. And Gharafa is one of those,” he said.
“When they played against Lekhwiya, they showed that they are a strong team. I think some games are like wars. If you don’t give your 100 per cent then you won’t win. At Salal our philosophy is to give our maximum effort in every game,” he added.
“Gharafa played Lekhwiya during this break while we have had a long time to prepare. Now we play Gharafa and Lekhwiya before the break and we have to take maximum points from both those matches.”
“We don’t think about this seven-day break or a two-day break. If we don’t play well then we won’t win. We have to play with all our individual and collective qualities and aim for the win,” he said.
“If you see the quality of their players, they have big ambitions this season - to be up there with the best and compete for the title. We are not afraid of any opponent,” he said before adding: “The string of bad results that Gharafa is experiencing is normal. It can happen to any team. Our ambition is to be in the top 4. And after these two games, during the break, we will try to prepare our team further to achieve this target. Now I have had two seasons with Umm Salal.”
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