Lekhwiya lost vital ground today after suffering a shock 2-0 defeat at the hands of El Jaish in the Qatar Stars League.

The loss saw the defending champions drop down a point to second position behind Al Sadd after the Wolves thrashed Umm Salal 4-1 earlier in the day.



With nine matches to be played by each team, it’s more or less certain that the title will be won by either Lekhwiya or Al Sadd, with the remaining teams fighting to stay in the top four in order to compete in the Cup competitions.

El Jaish who are on 31 points lags Al Sadd by nine and are in third place, followed by Qatar Sports Club who are on 30 points.



Lekhwiya needed a win to consolidate their position at the top, but lots their opportunity as they were engaged in a battle of attrition by El Jaish. The game failed to pick any notable momentum, with too many little skirmishes between the players slowing down its pace and rhythm.

Thankfully, El Jaish came up with two goals in 11 minutes to rescue the situation and open up the door for Al Sadd to go into the lead once more.

In the 55th minute Mohamed Mathnani was left unchecked on the left flank and the midfielder’s great vision saw him send a perfect through-ball into the penalty area for Romarinho to pounce on and score from point blank range.


While El Jaish’s joy knew no bounds, Lekhwiya didn’t seem to learn from their mistake, as this time Yasir Abu Baker punished them for another defensive lapse in the 66th minute.

Mohamed Moosa was too casual with the ball and Baker snatched it from his feet before making a 40-metre dash to easily score past the keeper.

Lekhwiya came close to scoring only once, a powerful shot from 25 yards by Youssef Msakni missing the net by a whisker in the dying seconds of the game.