Nigeria's Ezekiel Imoh scores for Qatari club

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Nigeria’s Imoh Ezekiel was on the score sheet as his club Al Arabi defeated Al Wakrah 3-1 in a Qatar Stars League match on Saturday.

With his side having a slender 2-1 lead into stoppage-time, the one-time Super Eagles striker beat his marker to nod the ball into the net from close range.

It was Ezekiel’s sixth goal in 20 appearances for the Doha-based club.

Chilean Luis Jimenez scored a brace in the game after Al Wakrah’s Mahir Yousef grabbed the opener for the bottom-of-the table club.

The victory takes Al Arabi into mid-table in the 14-team league on 23 points from 22 matches. Only last week, Ezekiel’s club suffered the heaviest defeat in their recent history, a 7-0 whitewash in the hands of former Barcelona great Xavi Hernandez’s club Al Sadd.

Al Arabi is popularly known as the “ Dream Team” in Qatar.

Al Arabi has won the league seven-times and there last was in the 1995-1996 season, where Nigeria’s former Super Eagles striker Richard Owubokiri was top striker in the league with 16 goals that season.

The club’s most renowned player is Gabriel Batistuta, former Fiorentina and Argentina great.

Ezekiel received his first call-up to the Nigeria national team in February 2014 and his last on 3 September 2016. He earned his first senior cap on 6 March, in the 0–0 draw with Mexico in a friendly match after coming on as a second-half substitute for Victor Moses.

Al Sadd ready for Rayyan in Clasico

DOHA AL SADD coach Hussein Ammota believes his team is still some way away from winning the Qatar Stars League crown.

On the eve of the tough match against Al Rayyan, he said he was confident that his team would bounce back through the Clasico and complete a double against the rivals.

There are five matches still to go before the league ends. Al Sadd top the table, while Rayyan are occupying the fourth place.

Ammota has insisted his players can hit back hard after 0-1 defeat against El Jaish at their home and replicate their 4-1 win in the reverse fixture in November 2012.

The former Asian Champions currently lie five points clear of the second- placed Lekhwiya and are as many as 11 points ahead of the fierce rivals Al Rayyan.

In a pre-match press conference on Monday, Ammota said, “We don’t have to introduce this game because everyone knows it’s the Clasico of the Qatari league. With the players we have, I think we can do a good job.

“All the journalists tell me Al Sadd have won the league. This is not true because there are many points to play for. We lost against El Jaish but we were lucky because Lekhwiya drew.

“We are only leading by five points. We should be motivated by this difference because we have to win the game to feel more comfortable in the league. Of course, the result gave us a bad atmosphere but with the difference in points, we are motivated.” Speaking on the significance of the match and quality of the opposition, he said: “The position of both teams doesn’t give any hint as to who will win this game. We lost three points in the last game and they were important points. Now Al Rayyan is strong but Al Sadd always plays well against the strong teams,” Ammota said.

“I’m not afraid of the opponent but the attitude of my players concerns me. Al Rayyan has good players, especially like Neymar, Tabata and Gomo. Lately they have not had good results but they are a good team who always play well,” he added.

Diego Aguirre, coach of Al Rayyan underlined the significance of the match and said his players are ready to go. “This will be a great game. We all love to be involved in these sort of games. Last season all the games were good. Even if we won or lost, it was a good game.

“Both sides will be motivated for this game. There will be no problem for that. We will respect Al Sadd but we have nothing to fear.” Having scored seven goals past Sailiya last week, Aguirre’s boys cannot ask for a better motivation than that. “There is no more pressure on my players because of our result against Al Sailiya. It is not important if you win or lose before facing Al Sadd. It is a special game so we must play very well. Everyone wants to be involved in these games.” “We have a team with good quality and we believe we can win. It is good for us to see these players put in a good performance. No matter whom they are, this game gives every player motivation to do well,” Aguirre added.

In 22 QSL matches since 2004, Al Sadd have won 10 and Rayyan won seven, while five games have been drawn. Al Sadd have been in prolific form, netting 42 goals against Rayyan’s 31.

In the curent season, Brazilian Nilmar, who scored a spectacular hat-trick last week, will hope to add to his 11 league goals. Al Sadd will rely on the diminutive striker Khalfan Ibrahim, who has netted ten goals.

Al Sadd back on top of Qatar Stars League

DOHA Asian Champion Al Sadd Sports Club walloped Umm Salal 4-1 to regain top spot of the Qatar Stars League in a week thirteen-fixture at its home ground on Saturday.

WHAT A CELEBRATION! Al Sadd players celebrate scoring a goal.

Al Sadd’s goals came from Magid Mohammed with a brace in the 36^th and 77^th, followed by Khalfan Ibrahim on 52 minutes and South Korean Jung Soo Lee completing the rout in the 91^st minute to finish off an unimpressive Gerard Gili led Umm Salal, sitting at the bottom of  the QSL table.

Magno Alves scored Umm Salal’s only goal in the 58^th minute leaving it    with a paltry nine points from 13 matches.

With the win al Sadd go top of the table after being nudged by Lekhwiya on Thursday.

Al Sadd has 26 points from 13 matches, while Lekwhiya is on 25 .

In third spot is QSL newcomers El Jaish (22 points) while Al Rayyan (20) is in fourth spot.

It was Al Sadd's third successive win - they beat Al Kharaitiyat and Al Arabi in their last two fixtures prior to Saturday - and eighth this season. Coached by Jorge Fossati, Al Sadd is seeking their first QSL title in more than four seasons.

Elsewhere, struggling Al Arabi denied al Wakra's chase to the top by beating them 1-0 in their Qatar Stars League (QSL) clash.

Argentine striker Leonardo Piscuilichi struck in the 25th minute with a superb curling free-kick as Al Arabi posted their third win this season.

The loss stalled the process of fifth-placed Al Wakra who is chasing the top four in QSL - Lekhwiya, Al Sadd, Al Jaish and Al Rayyan.

The top four sides in QSL qualify for the Heir Apparent Cup, an event that can help the winners earn a spot on the AFC Champions League calendar.

Al Arabi - who started the season with four successive draws – is placed  eighth  in the league table.

After thirteen weeks of action, Al Rayyan’s Alfonso Alves leads the goals chart with ten goals, followed by Adriano Martins of Jaish with nine goals.

Here is a list of the top ten goal poachers with their clubs. (Goals, Names and clubs)

          10        Afonso Alves Martins                 AlRayyan

            9          Adriano Martins Ferira            Al Jaish

            9          Moumouni Dagano                     AlKhor SC

            9          Said Boutahar                           AlWakra

            8          Kalunituka Dioko                     Al Ahli

            7          Sebastien Soria             Qatar Sports Club

            7          Rodrigo Tabata                        AlRayyan

            5          Joji Boualem                             AlArabi

            5          Wegnar Renar Rebearo            Al Jaish

            5          Everaldo de Pereira (Cabore)  Umm Salal

Resurgent Qatar SC comeback to beat Ahli 4-

DOHA Three goals in the second half from Abdullah Oaddou, Sebastian Soria and Mohammed Omer ensured Qatar SC cancelled Al Ahli’s first half lead to win 4-3 during a round five-fixture of the Qatar Stars League at the Al Arabi Stadium on Saturday.

Qatar SC was trailing 1-3 in the opening 45 minutes but a resurgent performance from Qatar produced three goals in the second half to script an unlikely 4-3 win as coach Abdulla Mubarak of Ahli watched in disbelief.

Al Ahli's Dioko Kalutiyuka scored two goals in the 7^th and 29^th minute while his teammate Hicham Aboucherouane scored one in the 34th minute. After Marcinho Jose de Oliveira's goal in 11th minute, Qatar SC hit back through Abdullah Oaddou in the 57^th minute, Sebastian Soria scored a spot kick in the 65^th minute and Mohammed Omer completed the comeback with a goal in the 68^th minute to seal the 4-3 win.

Kalutiyuka scored the curtain raiser in the seventh minute of the match, following a defensive blunder by tall Moroccan defender Ouaddou, the striker benefited from the defender and goalkeeper’s lapse of concentration. After collecting a long ball from the centre of the pitch, Kalutiyuka charged towards the Qatar goal even as Ouaddou lunged at the Al Ahli striker.

Ouaddou mistimed his lunge allowing Kalutiyuka to take the ball forward, go past the goalkeeper Mohammed Mobakar and flick the ball into the empty net.

In the 11^th minute, Marcinho leveled the score for Qatar following a lob pass from the right flank, which evaded Ahli’s Abdulla Mustafa Saif, giving the striker space to shoot the ball from close range.

As the match progresses, Ahli was opening the defense of Qatar with well timed passed that usually exposes the inept defending of its back four.

And the chance came in the 29th minute, another defensive lapse allowed Ahli to take the lead for the second time.

Kalutiyuka picked up loose ball from the feet of defender Mohammed Omar and smartly hit the ball over the head of goalkeeper Mobarak for his second and Ahli's second goal at the half-hour mark.

In the 34th minute, the mental agony for Qatar SC coach Al Sheeba increased manifold as defender Khaled Saleh failed to mark Aboucherouane who flicked one from close range as Al Ahli went 3-1 up.

After missing a sitter in the 53rd minute, Ouaddou scored four minutes later off a snap-header following a pass from Yousef Safri positioned near the corner flag.

Ahli had their chances in the second half, Aboucherouane failed to make any use of a free kick from the edge of the box on the hour mark.

In the 65^th minute, the referee spotted an infringement inside the box after Marcinho was fouled. He awarded a penalty, which Soria converted calmly to bring the score to 3-3.

Qatar SC scored its winning goal in the 68th minutes, following a move initiated by Soria, which opened space for defender Omer to neatly dispatch a rebound ball from close range for his side’s fourth goal.

Qatar Stars League Fixtures 2011-2012: Champions Face Daunting Start

Defending Qatar Stars League champion Lekhwiya will face a tricky start to its 2011-2012 QSL season with an opening day match at the against Al Wakra Sports Club. Not only that, another away clash against Abdulla Mubarak’s Al Ahli will follow up after that. Djamel Belmadi’s (Lekhwiya coach) men then returns home to face QSL debutant Al Jaish before another big test in the form of Al Gharaffa, and Al Khor, which will only be their fifth match of the season. Indeed, it will be a daunting start to its season.
The first match for Lekhwiya will be on September 16 at the Al Wakra SC.

Even Al Gharafa will be having some sort of a tough start to its campaign with an opening day fixture at home against Qatar Sports Club, followed by difficult clashes against Al Khor and Al Arabi. Although they will return home with two corresponding matches against defending, champion Lekhwiya and less fancied Al Kharaitiyath on the list. However, the demanding round of opening fixtures will not help the fact that Gharafa will also have to monitor its way past the qualifying stages of the Champions League. Their performances will set the benchmark for the rest of the season.
Gharafa’s first match will be home at the Gharafa Stadium against Qatar SC on September 16. The following week they face a serious test as they travel to Al Khor.

As far as Al Rayyan is concerned, it will open its season with a tough away trip to Gerard Gil’s Umm Salal. Following that, they return home to host Al Kharaitiyath before traveling to Al Khor. After the international break, Rayyan will have to work themselves out of a tricky tie against Al Ahli before they get ready to host Al Wakra.
Their first serious test will however be the following week as they travel to Doha to face Al Arabil. They face three tough home fixtures in November when they host Gharaffa, Al Jaish and then Al Sadd.

Al Arabi appear to have the easiest of opening round of fixtures and perhaps only their opening game represents a difficult challenge by their standards before the international break. They face Al Khor away from home first before taking on the likes of Wakra and mighty Gharaffa at its home ground. After the international bridge, Arabi will have to visit Umm Salal, before visiting Sadd Stadium to take on Al Sadd Sports Club.

Round 1 Fixtures
16/09/2011
Al-Gharrafa - Qatar SC
Al-Ahli - Al-Arabi
Al-Wakra - Lekhwiya
Umm-Salal - Al-Rayyan

18/09/2011
Al-Sadd - Al-Kharitiyath
Al-Jaish - Al-Khor

Lekhwiya leads QSL

BAKARI Kone and Abdeslam Ouaddou scored in each half as Lekhwiya maintained its leadership at the top of the Qatar Stars League table after a comfortable 2-0 away win against Sailiya at the Al Rayyan Stadium on Thursday.
Lekhwiya thus maintained 100 per cent away record this season.
Sailiya’s home defeat increased to four in the twelfth round of QSL fixtures.
Moroccan defender Abdeslam Ouaddou put Lekhwiya ahead in the 41st minute, and they maintained the advantage till the end of the first half.
The game was evenly poised until the 87th minute when Ivory Coast international Bakari Kone wrapped up the points for Lekhwiya with his eighth goal of the season.
With this result Lekhwiya strengthened its grip on top spot with 29 points, four points ahead of the second-placed Gharaffa.
In the reverse fixture on the opening of the season, Lekhwiya had earlier inflicted a 4-0 defeat on Sailiya with all goals coming from Mohammed Razak’s efforts.
Meanwhile Al Sadd, Qatar Stars Cup champion, forced Rayyan to a 1- 1 draw after Fabio Cesar’s goal in the 37th minute of the first half was cancelled in the 82nd minute by Sadd’s South Korean Jung Soo-Lee.
The fierce rivalry between the two sides has placed it as a star fixture of the twelfth round.
Sadd remains fifth on the table with 19 points same as Rayyan with the same goal difference.
QSL defending champion Al Gharaffa will not be in action until Saturday when they take on Al Ahli, a team they beat by 7-1 on the opening day of the 2010-2011 QSL season.
In another Saturday fixture fourth- placed Qatar Sports Club will battle Kharaitiyat.
Third- placed Al Arabi will move to second if they beat Umm Salal on Friday at the Qatar Sports Club.
A battle of survival between the tenth and eleventh-placed teams will ensue when Khor faces Wakra at the Al-Khor Stadium.
Both sides are languishing at the bottom halves of the table and a win for either side will lift it above the other.

Onyekachi scores third goal of the season

Nigeria's Onyekachi Okonkwo won a man of the match award, after scoring his third of the season in a Qatar Stars League match on Thursday.However a late dramatic goal from Al Sailiya denied his team Al Kharaitiyat maximum points.

Yahia Kebe had a fine shot from 25 yards, which was blocked by the Sailiya keeper Mohamed Anyas.But Onyekachi Tico collected the deflection and scored to put Kharaitiyat ahead.

However, Faouzi Mubarak’s strike forced the teams to split the points.

Kharaitiyat should have wrapped the game in the first half itself after creating numerous chances but their players failed due to poor shooting.

Kebe’s free kick in the 20th minute was too high and four minutes later, Onyekacki blasted over the cross bar after exchanging passes with Alaa Abdul Zahra.

The home side continued to dominate with Mosaab Mousa’s fierce shot being well blocked by Mohamed Anyas for a corner-kick.

Sailiya managed to survive three sharp attempts by Kharaitiyat off the resultant corner.

First it was Zahra whose header inside the box was confidently cleared for another corner by the goalkeeper.

Then Nabil Mohammed had his shot cleared on the goal line by Sailiya’s captain Mugib Hamed Taha.

In the 43rd minute, Onyekchi dribbled his way into the goal area and forwarded the ball for Mosaab Mousa to shoot.His attempt was however too high .

Kharaitiyat finally capped its dominant spell by opening the scoring.

A powerful Kebe shot was deflected by the rival keeper, and in the ensuing goalmouth scramble, Tico slammed his third goal of the season.

Sailiya soon had an opportunity to level the scores from a corner, but after leaping like a salmon, Dagano Moumoune ballooned his shot over goalkeeper Khalifa Abubakar, the Kharaitiyat custodian.

Later, Zahra scored a goal but the referee disallowed it for a handball foul.

Soon after Dagano’s wasted chance, Mubarak struck home with a booming left-footed shot after a dazzling run by Majed Mohammed.

With the draw both side are placed at seventh and eighth slots in the the league

Onyekachi scores brace for Kharaitiyat

KHARAITIYAT rode a brace by Onyekachi Tico Okonkwo to defeat Umm Salal 3-2 in a keenly-contested Qatar Stars League (QSL) match at Qatar Sports Club in Doha on Tuesday.
In another QSL match played on Tuesday at the same venue, Lekhwiya edged tableleader Qatar Sports Club (QSC) by a solitary goal.
This was QSC’s first defeat in five matches.
The lone goal of the match came through a penalty, which was converted by Bakari Kone.
Kharaitiyat first went into a two-goal lead but it was wiped off before scoring the winner.
Players of both the teams played with a lot of intensity to break the deadlock.
Kharaitiyat eventually emerged the winner due to the athleticism of Tico, who had earlier drawn the first blood in the 14th minute.
Kharaitiyat shot into the lead when Mohammad Husain’s hasty clearance rebounded into the Umm Salal box after hitting a rival player.
Both Tico and Alaa Abdul Zahra raced into the box to get hold of it.
Tico was the first to reach it and he made no mistake in shooting it into the net past the hapless goalkeeper.
The pace with which Tico ran for the man caught the Umm Salal goalie off guard too.
Kharaitiyat consolidated the lead in the 39th minute when Abdulla Darwish intercepted a pass from Umm Salal defender Dahi Saad al Naeimi and sent a floater inside the box from the right.
Yiha Kebbi Kebbi first chested down the ball and shot it in a flash into the net.
Stung by two reversals in quick succession, Umm Salal reorganised itself and launched several attacks through coordinated game.
Its efforts were rewarded in the 44th minute when Davi’s cross from the left found the out-stretched foot of Gabriel Francisco and the deflection saw the ball went past the falling goalkeeper.
Umm Salal continued to play in the same vein in the second session and succeeded in gaining parity in the 63rd minute.
Davi on this occasion received a cross at the left edge of the box.
After neatly trapping the ball with his left foot, he beat Daryo Kan before shooting from an acute angle.
Umm Salal grew in confidence and was now pushing for the lead for first time in the match.
But in the process, it left ample space for the Kharaitiyat players to exploit in the 66th minute through Tico.
Kebbi Kebbi headed into the vacant area and Tico outpaced Younes Yaghoob Darwish to reach the ball.
He then drew out the Umm Salal goalie and slotted the ball through the right of the goalkeeper.
Umm Salal squandered a golden opportunity to come back into the match again when a free-kick awarded to it right at edge of box flew past the right post.

Nigeria's Onyekach Okonkwo debuts for new club

Nigeria's Onyekachi Okonkwo made his league debut for top division Qatari club al Kharaitiyat, spotting jersey (10) and he played the entire ninety minutes.

SECOND-HALF goals from Sebastian Soria and Marcio Jose de Oliviera gave Qatar Sports Club a deserved victory 3-2 over Al Kharaitiyat and put them among table toppers of the Qatar Stars League, presented by Masraf Al Rayan, in the opening week.

Mercurial Soria earlier struck first in the 10th minute when he neatly finished a sublime, low cross with a powerful shot inside 18 yards.

Kharaitiyat, who rallied strongly after the reverse, was handed a chance to equalise in the 12th minute when Abdullah Alawi brought down Alaa Abdul Zahra.

The free-kick was from 25 yards but Yahia Kebe’s effort was saved by the goalkeeper to the delight of the home fans.

With 20 minutes into the game, Kebe could not be stopped from getting a goal.

Kharaitiyat equalised after a clever pass from left winger Abdulla al Battat freed its top striker Kebe who calmly slotted the ball home.

Nigerian international Tico Okonkwo, making his league debut for Kharaitiyat, had a good first-half with his ball distribution and dribbling abilities, which resulted in a free-kick from 25 yards after he was pulled down when racing his way into the danger area.

The resultant freekick was brilliantly converted by Kebe for his second goal of the match.

The pressure was apparently on Qatar Sports Club as its lost concentration might have seen it concede another goal in the 35th minute by Zahra.

He needed just a simple touch to increase the goal tally but as he chose to crash the ball into the net, the shot went too high.

Trailing 1-2 at the break, QSC decided to pull all stops in the second session.

Its slick play helped it to dominate the early exchanges.

Enterprising de Oliviera dribbled his way into Kharaitiyat box which created a goal-mouth scramble in which Soria struck the equaliser in the 55th minute.

The tight match took a toll on the nerves of QSC coach Sebastiao Lazaroni, who was challenging the decisions by referee Khamis al Kuwari frequently.

But in the 63rd minute, the referee finally gave marching orders to the coach when he showed resentment over the booking of Fadel Omar Said.

QSC was fired up after this and laid a siege on the Kharaitiyat’s goal.

In the 77th minute, Soria could have struck again but he slammed the ball wide.

But de Oliviera was not the one to spurn the chance when he got it after beating the off-side trap in the 81st minute.

He darted inside and put the ball over from a close range to give QSC the maximum points and claim the $1,500.