DOHA (Qatar): Brazilian forward Kayke Rodriguez scored the winner in the 70th minute as Qatar SC shocked Al Rayyan 1-0 in their third round match of Qatar Stars League on Saturday.
Qatar SC, with their first victory, have three points, whereas Al Rayyan stood on four points.
Going into the match, Qatar SC were the basement side without any point, having lost 0-2 to Al Gharafa and 1-2 to Al Kharaitiyat.
The result gave The Kings, coached by ex-Qatar international midfielder Younis Ali, the much-needed confidence as the QNB Stars League takes a break now.
On the other hand, it was a jolt for last season’s runners-up Al Rayyan, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Al Sailiya in their opener but came back with a 3-1 defeat of Al Gharafa in Week 2.
Al Rayyan dominated the proceedings and their players had more opportunities than their rivals, yet they found themselves at the receiving end.
Al Rayyan’s lethal duo of Yacine Brahimi and Yohan Boli combined on more occasions than one, only to see the latter have a close call once in either half.
Their team-mate Ahmed Abdelmaqsoud too missed the mark in the first half, where Qatar SC’s Elmehdi Barrahma was twice thwarted by Al Rayyan goalkeeper Saoud Al Hajri.
Abdulaziz Hatem almost put Al Rayyan ahead in the 48th minute, but his shot was blocked by goalkeeper Jassim Al Hail.
Elmehdi then had a free-kick from distance saved by the goalkeeper.
The winning goal came when Kayke latched on to a through pass from his own half by controlling the ball with his head, darted into the rival area with great speed and found the target with a placing shot after evading the goalkeeper and defender Gabriel Mercado.
Al Rayyan’s Ali Ferydoon came on to the pitch for a cameo in the 86th minute and was unlucky. So were his team-mates Franck Kom, Abdulrahman Al Harazi and then Boli in stoppage time as they pressed hard for an equaliser. (Source: QSL)
