Muaither register first victory of the season

Philip Birrol’s Muaither registered their first win of the season with a slender 1-0 victory over fellow strugglers Al Wakrah. The Stallions have D.R Congo man Alain Dioko to thank after striking the only goal of the tie early in the first half.  

Indeed it was a dream start for the Stallions when Dioko smashed the ball into the back of the net, thanks to a pinpoint pass from strike partner Mahmoud Za'tara on the sixth minute of the tie at Al Gharafa stadium.



Al Wakrah had a chance to level the scoreline in the thirty second minute. Wakrah midfielder Ahmed Kahil found himself one on one with Basel Zidan and the veteran stopper pulled off a fine save to keep Muaither in the lead.  

The second half saw Al Wakrah push for an equalizer Morrocan midfielder Mouhcine Moutouali came close to scoring for the visitors however his close range shot came of the post. Dioko could have added a second to his tally but he sent the ball over the bar in the seventy third minute. Al Wakrah tried their best to snatch a point from Muaither but Basel Zaidan, the Muaither stopper ensured that the stallions held out to win their first game of the season.

Muaither held on to record a well-deserved win against a lacklustre Al Wakrah.  The Falcon’s now leap frog Al Wakrah and are now twelfth in the table. Al Wakrah replaces Muaither at the bottom of the table with only one point from five games.
 


Laudrup registers first win with Al Rayyan as they beat Al Kharaitiyat 3-2 in Al Khor
 
Over at the Al Khor Stadium, current QSL Champions Al Rayyan registered their second win of the season and Michael Laudrup’s first since taking charge three weeks ago as they beat league strugglers Al Kharaitiyat 3-1 to keep the pressure up on the top three.
 
The game didn’t start well for the recently installed Laudrup though after he watched his men concede after just three minutes. Despite being surrounded by three Al Rayyan players, Al Kharaitiyat’s number 20 Jaralla Al-Marri managed to get a shot away after receiving the ball in the 18 yard box following some scrappy defending, a shot which beat the goalkeeper but not the woodwork. Luckily the rebound from the post fell kindly to Abdulhadi Nuaman who stabbed home from two yards out to give The Thunders the early advantage.
 
Laudrup’s men stepped up the pressure after going behind and began dominating the game which paid off when number 20, Koh Myong-Jin, equalized after 17 minutes of play with a lovely strike from 25 yards out. The South Korean international drilled a hard, low shot into the back of the net which left goalkeeper and Al Kharaitiyat Captain, Ahmed Sofyan, with no chance.
 
Just before the halftime whistle blew, Al Rayyan’s new summer signing, Sergio Garcia, netted his second of the season to give The Lions a well-deserved lead on the 46^th minute. Despite protests from Al Kharaitiyat that Al Rayyan’s Captain Rodrigo Tabata’s assist rendered Garcia offside, the Spanish strikers goal stood and Al Rayyan went into the break 2-1 up.

Al Rayyan continued dominating possession after the break but was unable to create any clear cut chances and looked unlikely to find a third to seal the fixture. That was, however, until the game approached the last 10 minutes when they stepped up the pace in the hunt for the decisive third.

Despite both teams creating a raft of chances in the dying minutes, the game was all but finished in the 89^th when Al Rayyan’s talismanic striker, Sebastian Soria, who‘s just returned from injury, found the elusive third and headed home from close range after connecting with a long looping cross to guarantee all three points.

There was some last minute drama though as Al Kharaitiyat were awarded a penalty in the 93^rd minute for what looked like a consolation goal. Al Rayyan’s goalkeeper, Omar Barry, continued his fine form though and saved the last gasp chance. The game finished 3-2 and Al Rayyan move up to fourth in the league after collecting all three points.