Al Rayan post impressive 4-1 win over El Jaish

Reigning QSL champions Al Rayyan leapfrogged rivals El jaish into third place in the QSL standings, thanks to an emphatic 4-1 win on Sunday evening.The first half was a closely fought affair, with Al Rayyan edging out El Jaish 2-1 thanks to goals from Sebastian Soria and Sergio Garcia in the first half, with Jaish pulling a goal back through Lucas Mendes. Michael Laudrup’s men further pulled away courtisey of a free-kick from captain Rodrigo Tabata and a tap in for returning defender Nathan. 

The match sprung into life in the fourteenth minute Al Rayyan striker Sebastian Soria was bundled down in the box and the referee duly pointed to the penalty spot. The spot kick was delayed for a number of minutes, as Jaish argued the decision which saw defender Yousef Muftah shown  a yellow for his protests, after several minutes of delays Sebastian Soria stepped up and produced a panenka penalty to fool Jaish keeper Saoud Al Khater to give Al Rayyan an early lead. 

Immediately after the goal, the tie did threaten to boil over, both Sebastian Soria & Jaish midfielder Mohammad Mothnani were given a yellow card for an off the ball incident. El Jaish pushed hard for an equaliser as the first half progressed, and enjoyed the majority of the possession. The closest that Sabri Lamouchi’s side came was on the 25th minute when Uzbek winger Sardor Rashidov saw his shot fly just over Omar Barry’s goal. 

Jaish's pressure eventually told three minutes later from a set piece. Right back Murad Naji knocked in a inch perfect ball into the box. Jaish’s Brazilian defender Lucas Mendes was the first to react and out jumped the Al Rayyan defence to nod in his third goal of the season. 

The game opened up and Al Rayyan hit back into the lead just four minutes later. South Korean midfielder Koh Myong-jin pouced on a errant touch in the box and slid the ball to Spanish striker Sergio Garcia. The former Espanyol produced a perfect first time curling shot, which found its way into the bottom right hand corner to give the Lions a 2-1 lead. 


 

Both sides exchanged chances to score in a breathless period of play to see out the first half. First up was El Jaish to equalize as striker Abdulgadir Ilyas who was one on one with the keeper, unfortunately the Qatari striker blazed his effort well wide. Rayyan also had a chance to further their lead when a pass across goal came of Jaish defender Traore hitting the post in the process. Whilst seconds from the first half break, Jaish captain Seidou Keita played through Sardor Rashidov, the Uzbekistan international brought out a good save from Omar Barry in the Al Rayyan goal. The first half ended with Al Rayyan leading 2-1.

It was the reigning QSL champions Al Rayyan who gave signal of intent at the start of the second half, striker Sebastain Soria’s snapshot shot skid just wide seconds after the restart. The match tightened up in the second half, but just on the hour mark El Jaish could of found parity when Abdulgadir Ilyas’s towering header was tipped onto the cross bar by Omar Barry.

Al Rayyan put the game beyond doubt thanks to a free-kick of real quality on the 74th minute. On a foray forward Sergio Garcia was tackled just outside the penalty box. Rodridgo Tabata stepped up and whipped in from a tight angle which sailed into the far corner to give Michael Laudrup’s side a 3-1 lead, with his tenth goal of the season. 

On the 82nd minute the QSL champions rubber stamped their win with Rodrigo Tabata having a helping hand in his sides fourth of the evening. Al Rayyan’s captain produced a cross to the far post. Sergio Garcia had the piece of mind to keep the ball in play and pass to Al Rayyan’s returning defender Nathan who tapped in from close range as the Lions took a commanding 4-1 lead, which saw them leap into third place on goal difference.