Qatar SC players celebrate after winning their QNB Qatar Stars League match against defending champions Al Sadd at Al Gharafa Stadium. Qatar SC won 3-0; Action from the same match.
Doha: Qatar SC yesterday created probably the biggest upset in the QNB Qatar Stars League (QSL) this season when they beat defending champions Al Sadd 3-0.
Playing at Al Gharafa Stadium, a brace from Uzbek star Sardar Rashidov (9 and 90+4) and a brilliant strike from Brazilian forward Kayke Rodrigues (31) sealed Qatar SC’s fourth win of the season as Al Sadd tasted their second loss in a row.
In the day’s other clash, former champions Al Gharafa beat Umm Salal 2-0.
It was third-placed Al Garrafa’s sixth win of the season thanks to goals from Hector Moreno (3) and Sofiane Hanni (25, penalty).
Though Al Sadd retained most of the ball possession early on, Qatar SC did their best to grab every opportunity to keep coach Xavi Hernandez’s players at bay.
Al Sadd’s goalkeeper Saad Al Dosari, unfortunately, had a bad day right from the kick off.
Rashidov’s first goal came as a surprise for Al Sadd. After receiving a cross from Rodrigues, Rashidov outsmarted Al Sadd defender Tareq Salman. Rashidov ran with the ball for about 30 metres and beat Al Dosari with no defense coming from any other Al Sadd player.
Rashidov was instrumental in their second goal as well. This time Rashidov provided the cross to unmarked Rodrigues who made no mistake in directing the same into the right corner of the net, leaving Al Dosari stunned.
With Al Sadd’s fierce strikers Baghdad Bounedjah, Akram Afif and Nam Tae-hee looking to penetrate the Qatar SC defense at every possible moment, it was goalkeeper Jassim Adel Al Hail who had the busiest day. Adel blocked a number of attempts including a close call when Bounedjah fired a bullet from just outside the penalty area in the 62nd minute.
Qatar SC almost made it three-nil in the 79th minute when Elmehdi Barrahma fired a shot at the goal, only to see Al Dosari saving it to avoid further disappointment for Xavi’s men.
Qatar SC were determined to cause more trouble with one more goal during the remaining time while Al Sadd were hard at work, looking for some sort of consolation. However, just before the final whistle, Rashidov added one more to their tally during the injury time to seal a memorable win for coach Wesam Rizik’s team.
q
Yesterday’s loss also pushed Al Sadd to the fourth spot in the standings. Al Sadd, who lost just one match last season, have already lost three out of eight matches. Prior to yesterday’s debacle, Al Sadd had lost to title contenders Al Rayyan 4-2 and Al Duhail 4-1.
Al Duhail and Al Rayyan are currently occupying the top two spots in the standings with 26 and 22 points respectively from 10 matches.
However, Xavi’s men have played two matches less than the others, due to their Champions League commitments.
Qatar SC’s fourth win of the season marked a remarkable comeback after finishing 11th in the previous season before retaining their place in the top League thanks to a win in the relegation play-off.
