Al Rayyan's Roger Guedes celebrates after scoring a goal.
Doha: Roger Guedes scored four goals as Al Rayyan crushed Al Shahania 5-1 to jump to fourth spot in the Qatar Stars League (QSL) yesterday.
Al Rayyan controlled the match from kickoff with sharp movement and quick combinations, and it did not take long to establish their dominance over the struggling Al Shahania side at Al Khor Stadium.
Guedes set the tone early with a sixth-minute header, picking up a long lofted pass from Ahmed Alaaeldin. The Brazilian forward then doubled the lead at 40 minutes, again combining with Alaaeldin, who made an accurate through pass to Guedes at the goalmouth.
Guedes completed his hat-trick in first-half stoppage time with a perfect thunderbolt from about 25 yards out, helping Al Rayyan sit comfortably at 3-0 at half-time.
Al Shahania’s brief fightback came through Mohammed Bbalah, who pulled one back in the 56th minute.
Guedes almost scored again in the 62nd minute when he tried to shoot one in from the left side of the box, but Al Shahania goalkeeper Shehab Ellethy did well to thwart his attempt.
Wesley Ribeiro netted Al Rayyan’s fourth goal in the 65th minute before Guedes scored his fourth in the 80th minute, maintaining his status as the League’s top scorer at 12 goals.
The result lifted Al Rayyan to 16 points while Al Shahaniya remain at the bottom on 4 points.
Later, Al Arabi edged Al Ahli 1-0 at Al Thumama Stadium. Ishaq Al-Hajj struck the winner in the ninth minute after a sharp move inside the box.
Al Ahli pressed for an equaliser and created several chances, but Al Arab goalkeeper Jassim Al-Hail made several impressive saves to help his team maintain a clean sheet.
The result lifted Al Arabi to 13 points as they climbed two spots to seventh while Al Ahli remain on 9 points after being handed their sixth defeat of the season.
