(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Lekhwiya opened up a two-point lead over Al Sadd in the Qatar Stars League with a 3-0 win over Al Kharaitiyat, while Al Rayyan hammered Al Wakrah to all but secure a top-four spot.
With just three matches remaining to be played, Lekhwiya now have 56 points, while Al Sadd have 54, followed by Al Rayyan and El Jaish with 47 and 45 respectively
Lekhwiya came into yesterday's fixture knowing they faced fierce opposition, with Al Kharaitiyat stringing together three straight league wins prior to the match which has given them hope of surviving the relegation zone.
It didn't take long for Lekhwiya to take the lead, with Yousef El Arabi bagging his 23rd goal of the season with just 16 minutes on the clock. Lekhwiya's Ismail Mohamad found some space on the right wing and floated a lovely cross into the six yard box that El Arabi managed to connect with after outjumping both of Kharaitiyat's centre backs, heading it down and easily beating the goalkeeper.
The game opened up for Kharaitiyat and they began keeping possession and creating chances. They would have gone into half-time level were it not for the woodwork coming to the aid of Lekhwiya. Kharaitiyat's Rachid Tiberkanine struck a wonderful free kick on the 42nd minute that glided over the wall and had it not smashed into the post would have easily beaten Lekhwiya's goalkeeper Qassim Burhan at his near post.
Lekhwiya came out in the second half the quicker team and it didn't take them long to double their lead. Ismail Mohamed again provided the assist for El Arabi to latched onto the end of a perfectly weighted ball and chipped it over Kharaitiyat's goalkeeper Ahmed Sofian who had committed himself and gone down early.
Lekhwiya all but guaranteed the three points and the top spot in the league when they made it 3-0 on the 60th minute thanks to Youssef Msakni after he found himself through on goal and just a few yards out after some lovely build-up play from El Arabi and Tae-hee on the edge of the 18 yard box. Quick interlinking passing and clever flicks split Kharaitiyat's defence wide open and left an easy finish for Msakni who shrugged off a backtracking defender to put it into the back of the net.
With just ten minutes left, El Arabi should have made it four and taken his personal tally to 25 when he found himself with plenty of space and time in the 18 yard box. Despite controlling the ball well bringing down the cross, he rushed his shot and dragged it wide.
Meanwhile, Al Rayyan head coach Michael Laudrup will be pleased to see his men firmly bounce back from their 2-1 loss to Al Hilal in the Champions League and regain some form as the league nears its climax. Al Wakrah now look almost certain for relegation as the defeat leaves them rooted to the bottom of the league, two points adrift of second from bottom Muaither SC and seven points from safety.
Both teams had decent spells of possession in the first 20 minutes but it was Al Rayyan who soon settled into a rhythm and stepped up their game, dominating possession and the midfield as they searched for their first goal. It was Rayyan's captain, Rodrigo Tabata, who first hit the back of the net for The Lions on the 29th minute after he found himself on the back post and able to head home from barely a yard out after a pin point cross from Sebastian Soria.
Wakrah should have equalised on the 42nd minute after they were awarded a penalty. Up stepped Wakrah's captain Mohsine Moutouali who failed to test the goalkeeper and instead smashed the spot kick way over the crossbar.
Just minutes later Rayyan doubled their lead thanks to a goalkeeping blunder from Wakrah's Mohmad Abdulla. The Waves' goalkeeper failed to deal with a long range free kick from Tabata and the ball rebounded off his chest and straight into the path of Rayyan's Spanish star, Sergio Garcia, who stabbed it home from two yards out to give them a 2-0 lead going into half time.
It didn't take Rayyan long to all but see of the tie in the second half thanks to a second from Tabata. Rayyan's captain picked up the ball near the halfway line on the 51st minute and ran at Wakrah's defence who were unable to stop him as he skipped past a number of challenges before producing a clever finish, chipping the ball over Wakrah's goalkeeper who committed himself early.
Just a little over ten minutes later Tabata completed his hat trick with a fine free kick from 20 yard out, making it 4-0 to Al Rayyan and putting the game well out of Wakrah's reach. The Blue Waves now look too far gone and certain for the drop while Al Rayyan look to have cemented their fourth place, opening up a ten point gap over fifth place Al Gharafa.
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