(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Al Sadd opened up a 10-point lead at the top after a routine 5-0 win over Al Kharaitiyat in the QNB Stars League at the Al Sadd Stadium yesterday.
Rodrigo Tabata (69th and 79th minutes), Ali Asad (73rd minute) and Baghdad Bounedjah (82nd and 89th minutes) scored as Al Sadd completed their 10th win of the season to remain unbeaten. Xavi Hernandez's men have 32 points, 10 ahead of Al Gharafa, who play Qatar SC today. It was Kharaitiyat 10th defeat as they remain at the bottom with six points.
Al Sadd were unable to break down Kharaitiyat in the first half, and only after the introduction of substitutes Tabata and Assad in the second half did they able to penetrate their rivals' defence.
Al Sadd could have opened the scoring in the 10th minute. Musaab Khadir launched a curling long cross for Bounedjah but the tall Algerian in close proximity of the Al Kharaitiyat goalmouth was beaten to the dipping cross by keeper Shehab Ellethy.
Six minutes later, defender Abdelkarim Hassan sneaked into the Al Kharaitiyat box, but his left-footed flick narrowly missed the goalpost. Al Kharaitiyat's skipper Mohamed Aamir on the edge of the Al Sadd box found good angle on his volley, but keeper Meshaal Barsham dived to his left to stop the ball that eventually trickled away.
In the 24th minute, Al Sadd's Santiago Cazorla almost found the target with a right-footed drive but the ball was deflected by the keeper with a dive to his left. Eleven minutes later, after receiving a short tap from Hassan al-Haydos, Nam Tae-Hee hit the Al Kharaitiyat crossbar with a powerful shot.
In another Al Sadd move, Bounedjah clipped one from well inside the box, but the ball sailed close to the crossbar. In another header from close range in the 42nd minute, Bounedjah could not hit the net on a Cazorla corner kick.
In a rather ambitious move, Oumar Sako opted for a long-range shot from outside the Al Kharaitiyat box, but the ball sailed above the crossbar without causing damage in the 48th minute.
After a few hits and misses from both sides, Al Sadd found the net when substitute Tabata, after a cross from Al Haydous, deflected in the ball past the goalkeeper. The lead doubled when Bounedjah, stationed inside the Al Kharaitiyat box, slipped in a neat cross to unmarked teammate Ali Asad, who found the net from close range.
Tabata made the most of fresh legs as he scored his second of the match with a slick shot after charging into the Al Kharaitiyat box following a short pass from the right flank. Bounedjah then found the net, drilling a right-footed shot from inside the box as Shehab stepped out to kill the move. Bounedjah scored one more goal, also from close range.
In another match, Al Sailiya broke their victory drought with a 2-0 win over Al Rayyan. Sailiya had not won in their last three matches but they were not be denied yesterday. Rayyan's Shoja Khalilzadeh put the ball in his own net as Sailiya took lead in the sixth minute. They doubled the lead in the 16th minute after Tiago Bezerra converted a penalty, which he earned after being fouled by Dame Traore. Sailiya are seventh with 15 points while Rayyan stay in sixth place with 16 points.
Elsewhere, Al Ahli climbed to third in the table after a 2-0 win over Al Wakrah at the Al Arabi Stadium. Nabil El Zhar (50th-minute penalty) and Hazem Shehata (64th minute) scored the goals for Al Ahli, who moved on to 22 points with their seventh victory. Al Wakrah stood on 13 points after succumbing to their seventh loss.
The first real chance at the goal came in the 26th minute when Al Ahli's Ali Qaderi, off a cross from the right by Abdulrasheed Umaru, skied the ball. Al Wakrah retorted with a free-kick taken by their spearhead Mohamed Benyettou three minutes later, but goalkeeper Yazan Naim parried it.
Al Wakrah had a chance to surge ahead in the 38th minute, but Cristian Ceballos failed to nod home the ball, headed goalwards by Ousmane Coulibaly following a free-kick taken by Murad Naji. Nabil tested goalkeeper Mohammed Saeed with a grounder in the 45th minute as the first half drew to a close.
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