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Romarinho has made a good impression so far with El Jaish with his striking prowess, and yesterday he gave yet another example of his obvious class with a match-winning performance against Qatar Sports Club in the Emir Cup semi-finals.<br />
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The diminutive playmaker struck the winning goal in the second half in time added on as El Jaish won 2-1 to stay on course for their first-ever Emir Cup title which will kick-off next Saturday.<br />
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In a match that had little to shout about apart from Qatar Sports Club’s only goal – a beautiful volley by Hamdi Harboui, it was Romarinho who proved decisive come the final whistle.<br />
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El Jaish’s first goal also came thanks to the industry of the Brazilian Romarinho in the 40^th minute.  A zigzagging 45 yard run left the Qatar Sports Club defence tackling thin air, but with only the goalkeeper Mohamed Mubarak to beat, Romarinho agonizingly struck the far post.<br />
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Luckily for El Jaish, the ball rebounded to Abdelqader Ilyas lurking inside the box as the forward scored with a measured left-footed shot.<br />
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Five minutes earlier, Harbaoui showed that he possessed the agility of a gymnast as he volleyed a high cross from Abdulla al-Dayani  into the back of the net and past a hapless Ahmed Sofyan.<br />
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El Jaish were hampered by the fact that three of their key players—Wagner Ribeiro, Wessam Rizq and Mohamed Methnani — had off days. They struggled to move the ball forward, leaving Romarinho and Ilyas up front to fend for themselves.<br />
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Romarinho could have settled the match midway through the second half with a powerful header but goalkeeper Mubarak pulled off a good save to keep his side in it.<br />
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With the referee adding five minutes to the match, it became a desperate scramble by both teams, keen on avoiding the lottery of the dreaded penalty shoot-out, but Qatar Sports Club neglected their defensive duties as they gambled by pushing men forward as they ended up paying the ultimate price.<br />
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With less than two minutes to go, forward Mohamed Muntari found himself perfectly positioned to collect a long pass, and after a well-timed run on the left he crossed to Romarinho, who scored without much difficulty.<br />
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Qatar will feel frustrated after a great season which saw them finish in 4^th spot in the Qatar Stars League but who failed to win any silverware this season.<br />
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El Jaish on the other hand, have put the Qatar Cup final loss to Lekhwiya behind them, it seems and will now have another stab at collecting a trophy this season.