Al Rayyan's Roger Guedes celebrates after scoring a goal against Al Wakrah yesterday.
Doha, Qatar: Roger Guedes was the star for 10-man Al Rayyan as the Brazilian scored twice in a 3-0 drubbing of Al Wakrah in a highly-anticipated Expo Stars League (ESL) clash at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium yesterday.
The crucial victory propelled Al Rayyan to second place in the standings as leaders Al Sadd and Al Gharafa played out a 2-2 draw at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium.
The other match on the eventful day saw Al Arabi prevailing over Qatar SC 4-3 in a cliffhanger with Omar Al Somah netting a treble at the Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Al Rayyan, who moved to 31 points, will now hope to cut Al Sadd’s five-point lead when they meet Umm Salal next week as Al Sadd face Al Arabi in their upcoming game.
Despite a red card to Andre Amaro in 29th minute for a rash tackle against Ayoub Assal, the Leonardo Jardim-coached was rock solid in defence against fiery Al Wakrah and availed their opportunities well as both the sides had seven shots each on target in an absorbing tie.
The Lions thwarted around two dozens of attempts by the Wolves in the intense battle.
Gelson Dala thought he had put Al Wakrah ahead with a strike in 35th minute after carrying the ball from halfway line but he was denied the goal after being found guilty of a foul in the build-up. Guedes, who scored a hat-trick in 3-2 win over Al Arabi last week, opened the scoring from the spot kick in 41st minute as Ahmed Mohamed was punished for a foul against Gabriel Pereira.
Moroccan Achraf Bencharki then scored in seventh minute of injury time to give Al Rayyan a two-goal advantage before half-time.
Guedes capped off the impressive victory in 61st minute with a left-footed low drive in the right corner after a cross from Murad Naji Hussein.
“We fought well in the match and our defence was outstanding despite the fact that we played with 10 men for 70 minutes. This victory will give us more motivation and we must work harder to continue the winning spree,” Al Rayyan coach Jardim said after the win.
Following the loss, Al Wakrah stayed on fifth in the standings with 28 points as Al Gharafa slipped to third place, but the Cheetahs would be happy to secure a point against Al Sadd, courtesy to an own-goal by Boualem Khoukhi in 82nd minute.
The Wolves also benefitted from an own-goal by Seydou Sano as they took the lead in 45+1 minutes with Ferjani Sassi equalising for Al Gharafa in 71st minute, heading the ball in from Yaccine Brahimi’s corner kick.
A comfortable finish by Yousuf Abdurisag in 80th minute restored the lead for Al Sadd but Khoukhi inadvertently slotted the ball into his own net while attempting to block a cross.
Earlier, Al Arabi bounced back from defeat against Al Rayyan with Al Somah scoring in 20th, 55th and 90+13 minute penalty. Rafinha Alcantra (50th minute) was the other scorer for The Dream Team.
Qatar SC’s goals were scored by Yohan Boli (76th and 86th minutes) and Bruno Tabata (90+5 minute) penalty as Al Arabi leapfrogged to fifth place with 21 points, while Qatar SC (13 points) slipped one place to 10th spot.
ESL Results
Al Rayyan beat Al Wakrah 3-0
Al Sadd draw Al Gharafa 2-2
Al Arabi beat Qatar SC 4-3
