Qatar SC’s Kayke Rodrigues (centre), celebrates after scoring a hat-trick against Al Gharafa in Round 2.
Brimming with confidence following a brilliant 3-0 win over Al Gharafa in Round 2 of Ooredoo Cup, Qatar SC will target their thrid win in a row when they take on Al Arabi on Friday.
The Group B rivals will clash at the Al Ahli Stadium in their Round 3 match.
Qatar SC are leading Group B with six points, having defeated Al Sailiya 4-0 in the first round.
Last weekend, Brazilian forward Kayke Rodrigues struck a brilliant hat-trick as Qatar SC blanked Al Gharafa. Kayke scored in the sixth, 38th and 90+4 minutes.
Their dominant 4-0 win against Al Sailiya was powered by new recruit Rodrigues who led the charge by knocking in two goals. Musa Haroon had given The Kings the lead and Elmehdi Barrahma rounded off the tally.
Apart from Ooredoo Cup, Qatar SC have been in excellent form in the QNB Stars League too.
Under their new coach, former Qatar international midfielder Wesam Rizik who replaced Spaniard Carlos Alos Ferrer, they have been doing wonders.
Qatar SC’s 3-0 victory over defending champions Al Sadd was the biggest upset of round 10 in QSL. A brilliant double by Sardor Rashidov and a clean strike by Rodriguez sealed their memorable win against the defending champions, coached by Spanish legend Xavi Hernandez.
It was their third consecutive victory, and fourth overall.
In Ooredoo Cup, Qatar SC are the only side in the 12-team tournament not to have conceded a goal so far.
They have a goal difference of +7 (seven goals for and none against).
That means, for Al Arabi who are currently in the third position with four points from one win and a draw, the Lions won’t be easy prey.
Heimir Hallgrimsson-coached Al Arabi have a goal difference of +1 (three goals for and two against).
In the other matches in Group B this weekend, Al Khor face Al Gharafa at the Al Wakrah Stadium while Al Sailiya face Al Duhail at the Al Ahli Stadium.
Al Khor made a giant leap with their convincing 7-0 win over QSL table toppers Al Duhail last week. They moved from fifth to second position in the table with four points.
Saeed Mohamed Brahimi was the star of the show with five goals, well-supported by a double from Ahmed Hassan Al Mohannadi.
It was a big consolation for Al Khor who are struggling in 10th place with five points in the QSL, which has taken a long break from action.
Al Khor, who had drawn 1-1 with Al Arabi in the first round, have a goal difference of +7 (eight goals for and one against).
On the other hand, reigning champions Al Gharafa are coming off a 0-3 defeat to Qatar SC and stayed on one point they earned from their 2-2 draw with Al Duhail in Round 1.
Al Gharafa, who will continue to miss some players due to national duty, have a goal difference of -3 (two goals for and five against). They occupy fourth place in the group.
Al Sailiya are the bottom-placed team in the group, having lost both their games. They are the only side yet to open their account.
Al Sailiya are exactly in the same situation as that of Al Shahania in Group A, in terms of the number of defeats, goal difference and even the number of goals scored and conceded. They lost 1-2 to Al Arabi last week and 0-4 to Qatar SC in the opening round.
On the other hand, Al Duhail will try to compensate for the setback at the hands of Al Khor while Al Sailiya will also seek their first victory.
