Doha: Al Shahania held Al Gharafa to a goalless draw in Week 11 of the QNB Stars League at the Al Gharafa Stadium yesterday.
Al Gharafa moved to 15 points and Al Shahania 12.
It was the third drawn encounter for both Al Gharafa and Al Shahania.
The Cheetahs have four wins and as many defeats against their name, whereas Al Shahania have registered three victories and five losses.
Al Gharafa enjoyed a possession of 53 per cent in the first half, which they increased marginally to 55 per cent at the final whistle.
Both teams tried hard to make a breakthrough, but their efforts went in vain.
Al Gharafa missed Abdulaziz Hatem through an injury, while Al Shahania were without their ace Argentinian striker Luciano Vazquez who received his marching orders during their 1-1 draw with Umm Salal in the previous round.
The second half too did not see a drastic improvement as Al Gharafa found it hard to break a resolute Al Shahania defence.
Al Gharafa’s Dutch star Wesley Sneijder scored a goal in the 59th minute, but it was ruled offside.
In the other match, Al Sadd got back to winning ways with a 5-1 victory over Umm Salal at the Al Gharafa Stadium yesterday.
Pedro Miguel (20th minute), Hassan Al Haydous (29th), Xavi Hernandez (55th) and Akram Afif (69th and 87th) scored the goals for Al Sadd.
Yannick Sagbo scored the consolation goal for Umm Salal in the 33rd minute. Al Sadd raised their points tally to 20 from nine matches. They now have six wins and played two games less due to their AFC Champions League commitments.
It was a blow to Umm Salal, who aim to break into the top four. They remained on 15 points.
In today’s matches, Qatar SC take on Al Rayyan while Al Ahli face Al Khor.
Qatar SC coach Sergio Batista said the Al Rayyan match will be a tough one.
“Facing Al Rayyan will be the most difficult task for me since I took over Qatar SC. I know that Al Rayyan are a strong team and we are ready to face them.
“After the victory over Al Arabi in the last round, the mood in the team camp is upbeat. We may miss two prominent players, Samuel Eto’o and Ahmed Moein, but we have choices.
“I am confident that we will play a strong match and move further up in the standings with another victory. I am confident in our team’s abilities and we respect Al Rayyan.
“Winning two games and a draw is important because the upcoming clash is my fourth since I took over. I know that my team will play it hard and nothing is impossible. We have players of great qualities,” said Batista.
Meanwhile, Al Rayyan’s Under-23 coach Gilson Souza said: “I am sure it will be an exciting and challenging match. I cannot reveal the details of our strategy against Qatar SC. They have improved a lot recently and got some positive results. We have to be well-prepared for them.
“We seek to bring out our best and we fully believe results align with performance. We may be occupying the second position in the table, but we must work more. We are keen to get a positive result in the last game of first leg.
Al Rayyan goalkeeper Omar Barry said, “Our game against Qatar SC is important. We focus on all games, all of which are difficult, and we deal with them realistically.
“There is no doubt that we had gone through a difficult phase, but we are improving. The league is long and we must show our desire to win through our abilities.”
Elsewhere, Al Khor coach Bernard Casoni wnats to forget the loss in the last round match and want to turn the tide agianst Al Ahli.
“The Al Ahli game is difficult. However, we will be looking for three points in order to move away from the danger zone and finish the first leg on a winning note.
“Al Ahli are coming from a big win over Al Sadd and their confidence is high. But we will work hard through which we beat Al Rayyan and Al Kharaitiyat.”
Source: thepeninsulaqatar.com