QNB Stars League; Al Sailiya finish third, Al Rayyan fourth, Qatar SC in play-off
The 2018-19 QNB Stars League came to a close after the Week 22 matches that were played on Saturday, 13th April, with the teams’ final positions being determined. High-scoring games and exciting results were the order of the day, and a total of 30 goals were scored.
Al Sadd and Al Duhail had already sealed the first and second place respectively. The remaining 10 positions were to be decided going into the final round of matches.
Al Sailiya finished third and Al Rayyan fourth, with Al Kharaitiyat getting directly relegated and Qatar SC going into play-off with Second Division runners-up Muaither SC.
There was no let-up for Al Sadd who beat Umm Salal 6-1 to end their triumphant campaign with 57 points. It was The Wolves’ 18th victory, while Umm Salal crashed to their 11th defeat.
Boualem Khoukhi, Hassan Al Haydous, Hassan Ahmed, Akram Afif (double) and Ali Asad scored the goals for Al Sadd, who had clinched their record-extending 14th Qatar league title in the previous round.
Umm Salal’s goal was netted by Yannick Sagbo. The Orange Fortress finished ninth with 23 points.
Al Duhail too ended on a high by beating Al Arabi 3-0, with Bassam Al Rawi, Paolo Edmilson and Yousef El Arabi on target. The Red Knights thus recorded their 15th win that took their tally to 50 points, while Al Arabi suffered their 12th loss.
Al Sailiya made a creditable achievement by finishing in the third place for the first time in history. The Peregrines defeated Al Kharaitiyat 5-2 to edge Al Rayyan and Al Ahli in the battle for the third position, and move to 38 points.
Mauricio Ramos, Mohammed Muddather (double), Nadir Belhadj and Abdulqadir Ilyas were on target for Al Sailiya. Abdelhadi Ameen and Valentin Lazar scored Al Kharaitiyat’s goals.
Al Rayyan stayed fourth with a 4-3 win over Qatar SC, who will play off with Second Division runners-up Muaither SC for a berth in the 2019-20 season league competition, behind Second Division champions Al Wakrah.
Al Rayyan have 37 points compared to Qatar SC’s 16.
Al Rayyan rode on a double each from strikers Sebastian Soria and Lucca Borges, while Qatar SC’s goals were scored by Ayman Hafez, Samuel Eto’o and Mohammed Al Rabiei.
Al Shahania and Al Gharafa swapping the seventh and eighth positions was the only change in the standings compared to the previous round, with the former beating the latter 3-1. Al Shahania ended up seventh with 27 points.
Kesse Amangoua and Ramin Rezaeian (double) found the mark for the winners, who have 27 points. Mehdi Taremi gave the only reply for Al Gharafa, who finished eighth with 26 points.
The battle to avoid relegation was between Al Khor, Qatar SC and Al Kharaitiyat.
And Al Khor made it safe with the one point they collected from their 1-1 draw with Al Ahli. Both goals were penalties. Thiago Bezerra put Al Khor ahead, a lead that was nullified by Al Ahli’s Omid Ebrahimi.