QSL Talking Points- Round 15

Last gasp goals, a raft of red cards and important wins at the foot of the table where the hallmarks of round 15 of the QSL season. Here in our weekly feature talking points, we break down the moments that mattered for the sides in the QSL.

Bad behavior in round 15

Round 15 of the 2016/2017 QSL season will be noted for no less than seven players given their marching orders in matches and twenty nine yellow cards dished out by the referees.

Al Rayyan’s narrow 1-0 win over Umm Salal was marred by three players seeing red in an ugly off the ball melee in the second half. Referee Mohammed Al-Shammari was left with little choice as Víctor Cáceres and Abdulkarim Al-Ali of Al Rayyan & Yannick Sagbo of Umm Salal saw red for their roles in the incident that saw the game paused for several minutes.

Three red cards were also dished out in El Jaish’s dramatic 4-3 win over Al Arabi. Winners El Jaish saw two players leave the pitch, Ali Sanad and Mohammed Al Jabri headed for an early showers after arguing with officials. As for Al Arabi two yellow cards for defender Vivien Assie saw the Ivorian leave the pitch. Finally, Al Khor keeper Papa Djibril was given a second yellow late in his sides 3-1 victory over Al Sailiya.

The overwhelming half of cards and dismissals seems to suggest a lack of discipline and composure from players in the round. The clubs will ultimately count the cost for their misdemeanors with a host of managers facing a selection dilemma in round 16.  



Another 4-3 thriller between Jaish & Al Arabi

The result of the weekend was the nine men of El Jaish grabbing a stoppage winner against Al Arabi in a thrilling 4-3 encounter on Monday evening.

Jaish raced into a two goal lead thanks to Lucas Mendes and Romarinho, before being pegged back by Al Arabi who scored through Emoh Ezekial and Luis Jiménez. Jaish thought they scored the winner in the 75th minute via a tap in from Rashidov before Arabi struck an equalizer Boualem Khoukhi moments later. In second half stoppage time Sabri Lamouchi’s side grabbed the winner through a classy strike through Rashidov.

The vital win keeps Jaish in touching distance of league leaders Lekhwiya. Sabri Lamouchi’s boys will be looking to add to their three game unbeaten streak when they face Al Khor next time out.



Al Kharaityat grab vital win in basement battle

Relegation threatened Al Kharaitiyat defeated fellow strugglers Al Wakrah 2-1 in what could be a crucial result come the end of the season. Two first half goals from Anouar Diba and captain Domingos secured the points for Ahmad Al-Ajlani’s side and pulled the boys in blue away from the relegation zone.

The Thunders have enjoyed a good record against sides in and around the relegation zone this season, and that could potentially hold the key to their survival this term. Al-Ajlani will now be plotting back to back wins for the first time this season when his team takes on a patchy Al Arabi side in round 16.