QNB Stars League: Al-Sadd lose to Al-Rayyan

Al-Sadd fell to a 4-2 defeat to Al-Rayyan in the QNB Stars League Round 6 game which was played at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Saturday.

Al-Sadd’s first defeat of the season means that they are now in third place in the league table with 10 points from 5 games, with a postponed game against Al-Arabi left to be played.

Both sides got the game off to a spirited start with chances coming up early on. Baghdad Bounedjah took a shot at goal in the third minute but Al-Rayyan keeper Fahad Younis kept it out for a corner. Rodrigo Tabata then had the ball in the net for Al-Rayyan, but the goal was ruled out for offside after the referee consulted VAR.

Al-Rayyan opened the scoring in the 25th minute through Argentine defender Gabriel Mercado, who struck with a first-time shot off a corner. Three minutes later, Al-Sadd equalised. Nam Tae-hee was fed nicely in the box by Akram Afif’s clever pass and the Korean midfielder made no mistake with his powerful shot that went in past the keeper Fahad Younis. It was Nam’s first goal for Al-Sadd in an official game.

Al-Rayyan captain Rodrigo Tabata then gave his side a 2-1 lead just before halftime, pouncing on a rebound and scoring past Saad Al-Dosari after the keeper had kept out Yacine Brahimi’s initial shot.

In the second half, Al-Sadd improved on the offensive front and Baghdad Bounedjah scored his seventh goal of the season with a header off Hamed Ismail’s cross in the 54th minute to level the score.

However, five minutes later, Al-Rayyan were back in front through Abdulaziz Hatem whose shot from the edge of the box slipped through Al-Dosari’s hands and went in.

Al-Rayyan scored their fourth goal in the 70th minute, after Brahimi dribbled past the Al-Sadd defenders and placed the ball past Al-Dosari’s reach. In the 79th minute, Al-Rayyan were awarded a penalty kick for a handball offence committed by Hamed Ismail. Brahimi took the kick but Al-Dosari stood his ground to keep it out and the ball was cleared safely.

Al-Sadd thought they had scored in the 88th minute, when Akram Afif finished off a lay-off from subsitute Ali Asad but the effort was ruled out after VAR showed that the ball had gone out in the build-up to the shot.

The referee signalled for six minutes of additional but it was not enough for Al-Sadd to get back into the game, and Al-Rayyan went on to confirm a 4-2 win.

MATCH DETAILS

Al-Sadd x Al-Rayyan (QNB Stars League Round 6)

VENUE:

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium

LINEUPS:

Al-Sadd: Saad Al Dosari, Hamed Ismail, Yasir Abu Bakr, Khoukhi Boualem, Tarek Salman, Jung Woo-young (Ali Asad), Gabi, Nam Tae-hee, Baghdad Bounedjah, Akram Afif, Hassan Al Haydos (Hashim Ali)

Al-Rayyan: Fahd Younis, Mohammed Alaa, Franck Kom, Yacine Brahimi (Sultan Al-Kuwari), Rodrigo Tabata (Khaled Muftah), Abdulaziz Hatem, Mowaffaq Awad (Sebastian Soria), Lee Jae-ik, Mohammed Jumaa, Gabriel Mercado, Ahmed El Sayed

RESULT:

Al-Rayyan won 4-2

GOALS:

Gabriel Mercado 25′
Nam Tae-hee 28′
Rodrigo Tabata 44′
Baghdad Bounedjah 54′
Abdulaziz Hatem 59′
Yacine Ibrahimi 70′

BOOKINGS:

Mohammed Alaa 32′
Yasir Abubakar 66′
Hamed Ismail 78′
Ahmed Suhail 84′
Mohammed Jumaa 90′

REFEREES:

Match referee: Saoud Al-Athba
Linesman 1: Taleb Salem
Linesman 2: Faisal Al-Shammari
Fourth official: Mishari Al-Shammari