Doha: Al Rayyan secured a 3-0 win against Al Arabi in the second round (Group A) of the 2024-2025 season QSL Cup at the Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium of Qatar Sports Club on Saturday.
Ahmed Al Rawi netted a brace in the (24th minute) and (44th minute) before Gabriel Pereira added the third in the 53rd minute to give The Lions the maximum six points from the two matches played so far, while Al Arabi could not add to the three points obtained in the first round.
Al Rayyan left no one in doubt of their intentions of going home with the maximum points at the end of the highly entertaining encounter as they took the battle to the gates of their opponents right from the get-go.
Al Rayyan’s Thiago Mendes tested the reflexes of Al Arabi’s goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada in the 10th minute with a calculated header from a set piece, but the 24-year-old Qatari shotstopper was up to the task as he parried the goal bound ball out of touch for a corner kick.
After several attempts, The Lions eventually got their desire in the 24th minute with Ahmed Al Rawi nodding home from a corner kick to give the stands and bench something to cheer about.
Not resting on their oars, Al Rayyan kept pounding on the Dream Team’s door, and they could have increased their tally on many occasions if not for some brilliant defending from Al Arabi’s backline.
Despite Al Arabi’s attempt at restoring parity, especially towards the end of the first half, it was Al Rawi who got his brace of the night in the 44th minute, from an assist by Belgium’s Julien De Sart, to give Al Rayyan a comfortable lead going into the halftime break.
It was a resurgent Al Arabi that came out of the dugout for the second half as they continuously piled pressure on Al Rayyan’s defence with goalkeeper Samy Beldi, who had a relatively quiet first half, being called into action for the most part of the early minutes of the half.
While Al Arabi did much of the playing, it was Al Rayyan who again did the scoring, with Pereira registering his name on the scorers’ sheet in the 53rd minute off a quick counterattack with Roger Guedes inadvertently providing the assist.
The third goal seemed to have evaporated any hopes of a comeback for Al Arabi as they played with lesser intent from thereon.
With tension rising, an unexpected drama ensued in the 85th minute, resulting in both Al Rayyan’s substitute Ali Qadry and Al Arabi’s Luiz Junior getting the marching orders for an altercation involving both players.
