Al Rayyan's Yacine Brahimi vies for the ball possession with Al Shamal players during yesterday's match.
Doha: Al Rayyan beat Al Shamal 3-0 while Umm Salal and Al Ahli played out a 1-1 draw in yesterday's Group A encounter of the fifth round of Ooredoo Cup.
At Al Khor Stadium, a brilliant double by Hashim Ali (61' and 64') which came after Ali Malolah Karimi's (57') opening goal powered Al Rayyan to their first win of Ooredoo Cup in the new season.
In the first five minutes, Al Rayyan should have gone 1-0 up but Hashim Ali – after covering a lot of ground – charged into the Al Shamal box but then missed his target from close range despite easily beating keeper Hassan Idriss Dicko with his shot
Close to the half—hour mark, Al Rayyan wasted a good chance to score. Captain Yacine Ibrahim found his way into the Al Shamal box.
Just a few meters away from the goalmouth, Ibrahim beat the keeper but Al Shamal’s Yaghoub Dorzadeh dived to stop the ball from going into the net.
In the second half, Al Rayyan turned things around in dramatic fashion. Ali Karimi, inside the Al Shamal box, was quick to pounce a loose ball and tap it over the keeper for his side’s first goal in the 57th minute. Four minutes later, Al Rayyan jumped to a 2-0 lead when Hashim Ali – after a cross from Ibrahim – tapped the ball into the net from close range.
Three minutes later, the Ibrahim-Hashim Ali duo produced Al Rayyan’s third goal. Ibrahim found Hashim with a neat cross from outside the box. Hashim charged into the box and slipped the ball past Al Shamal keeper Dicko for his side’s third goal within 6 minutes.
Meanwhile, Umm Salal and Al Ahli shared points at Al Wakrah Stadium. Patrick Friday Eze (12') opened the scoring for Al Ahli but Umm Salal’s Abdulrahman Al Rashidi (65') was the hero with a second-half equalizer.
