Al Rayyan's Yohan Boli (right) celebrates with teammates after scoring their second goal against Al Sailiya yesterday.
Doha: Omar Al Somah scored a second half brace to help Al Arabi reclaim top spot at the QNB Stars League (QSL) with a 2-1 victory over Al Ahli at Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium yesterday.
Also, Al Rayyan returned from the break with a bang beating Al Sailiya 2-0 to claim their first victory of the season.
Younes Ali’s Al Arabi rallied from a goal down after Yazan Al Naimat put Al Ahli ahead with a goal in 28th minute.
The Dream Team made several attempts and were finally paid late in the match with Al Somah scoring goals in 79 and 87 minutes.
With the crucial win, Al Arabi moved to 19 points, two points clear of Al Duhail, who jumped to the summit with a victory over Al Gharafa on Wednesday.
Earlier at the same venue, Nicolas Cordova’s Al Rayyan ended the victory drought after strikes from Osamah Al Tairi (49th minute) and Yohan Boli (72nd minute).
The much-needed victory after six defeats in seven matches boosted the Lions’ tally to 4 points, moving them to 11th in the standings by pushing Al Sailiya to the bottom.
Al Sailiya would consider themselves a bit unlucky for not being able to score when the teams were locked goalless just after the first half.
Mehrdad Mohammadi’s fine header effort was parried off in the nick of time by Al Rayyan goalkeeper Ivanildo Rodriguez.
The lurking Lions then soon made amends as an alert Osamah picked on a corner-kick melee chance to rush for the ball and score much to the delight of his teammates and fans.
Having gained the vital lead, Al Rayyan continued to attack and midway through the second half Boli put in the clear outside the box had only the goalkeeper to beat but kicked straight only for the ball to rebound. The forward then quickly moved to get the ball again and slammed it into the net.
The Lions kept up the pressure towards the end but Al Sailiya held on well and ensured no further goals.
