Muaither register impressive 3-1 win over Al Wakrah

Muaither moved off the bottom of the QSL standings with a 3-1 win over fellow strugglers Al Wakrah on Saturday evening. Phillipe Birol’s side where masterful on the counter attack, taking their chances when it mattered. January signing N'Guessan Yessoh was the star for the stallions, as his brace ensured that Muaither picked up only their fourth win of the QSL season. 

Muaither made a dream start in the relegation battle taking the lead ten minutes into the game through right back Mohammed Medhat. The Stallions defender was the quickest to react when Bruno Aguiar’s freekick rebounded the crossbar, thumping the ball into the back of the net with authority. 

Al Wakrah kicked into life immediately after the goal, and began to boss possession. Six minutes later the Blue Waves found an equaliser through new signing Youssoupha Mbengue. Slick build up play eventually ended when Abdurahman Mesaad flicked through an onrushing Mbengue who showed plenty of composure in slotting the ball into the bottom right hand corner to level up the scores.

Emboldened by the equaliser Kais Yâakoubi’s side pushed to take the lead and had plenty of chances to do so as the first half progressed. On the twenty minute mark, Muaither keeper Basil Zedan produced a good save to deny a goal bound free-kick from Wakrah defender Sultan Al-Brake.

Whilst goalscorer Mohammed Medhat put in superb last ditch tackle to deny Wakrah striker      Prince Ibara who was baring down on the Muaither goal. Despite conceding possession, Muaither missed a golden chance to head into the break with a 2-1 lead. Iraq international Ahmed Yasin knocked in a perfect cross to N'Guessan Yessoh, however the Ivorian pulled his shot well wide, the first half ended honours even at 1-1. 

Ten minutes after the restart Muaither took the lead. Courtesy of the head of N'Guessan Yessoh Muaither defender Shaneen Ali floated in a cross into the box with the Ivorian attacker timing his run perfectly  to nod the ball into the back of the net for his second goal in as many games for his new side.

Wakrah pushed hard to draw level again, but lacked  cutting edge in the final third. The closest they came in the second half to finding parity was shut down when Stallions defender Shaheen Ali cleared the ball off the line to deny Wakrah striker Prince Ibarra. The Blue Waves continued to push players forward, and that proved to be their downfall as Muaither took a 3-1 lead on the 88th minute. 

Racing away on the counter, Ahmed Yasin picked out N'Guessan Yessoh who rolled the ball into the back of the net to assure his side all three points. The win means that Muaither now move off the bottom of the QSL standings, and are replaced by Al Wakrah. 

Enad screamer enough for Al Rayyan to edge out Al Kharaitiyat 1-0

Defending champions Al Rayyan on Saturday struggled to a piece a 1-0 win over Al Kharaitiyat in round 19 of the Qatar Stars League (QSL).Despite a fierce fight from Al Kharaitiyat, Al Rayyan on Saturday relied on a spectacular goal from Abdulmajeed Enad to post their eleventh win of the season. 

The away side Al Kharaitiyat started on the front foot. Just three minutes into the fast-paced game, Al Kharaitiyat's Sanzhar Tursunov curled in a beautifully-taken free kick but his shot narrowly

missed the Al Rayyan goalpost.Eight minutes later, Al Kharaitiyat's Mohamed Salam opted for a long-range shot that whizzed past the far Al Rayyan goalpost, adding to the concern of coach Michael Laudrup.

With the champions struggling, Al Rayyan's Gonzalo Viera showed his frustration when he clipped hard at Al Kharaitiyat’s Tursunov at the half-hour mark. The lions eventually registered their first chance of note just two minutes from the first-half whistle, veteran striker Sebastian Soria found Koh Myong-jin unmarked on the edge of the Al Kharaitiyat box. Koh unfurled a curling shot that narrowly missed the Al Kharaitiyat box with Al Kharaitiyat goalkeeper Ahmed Soufiane completely beaten. The first half ended honours even at 0-0. 

Al Rayyan raised the stakes in the second half and Sebistian Soria came close to opening the scoring, missing a one on with the goalkeeper from a Abdulmajeed Enad cross. In the 54th minute, Abdulmajeed Enad broke Al Kharaitiyat hearts when he launched a fierce drive from 20 yards to beat Soufiane with his second goal this season. 

Al Kharaitiyat pushed hard to find their way back into the game, but Al Rayyan held on for the win and to stretch their winning streak in the QSL to five games.