DOHA: Title chasing Al Rayyan yesterday dropped points when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Al Kharaitiyat at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium.
The round 18 clash in the Qatar Stars League (QSL) didn’t go as planned for Al Rayyan who were hoping for a win to close gap on the points leaders Al Sadd, Lekhwiya and Eljaish.
For Al Kharaitiyat, Alain Dioko Kaluyituka scored both the goals in the 55th and 74th minutes.
For Al Rayyan, the goals were scored by Brazilian striker Nilmar who found the net in the 38th and 64th minute.
In another match yesterday, Al Khor beat Al Gharafa 2-0.
Abdu Qadir opened the scoring in the 31st minute and then Julio Cesar (70) doubled the lead for Al Khor in the second half.
In today’s action, Al Sadd visit Al Wakra for their round 18 clash.
The match was to be played yesterday but was postponed following the death of Al Wakra official Ahmed Al Khamis.
The match will be played at Al Wakra Stadium with kick-off set for 6:30pm.
Al Sadd will be looking to consolidate their lead at the top.
Meanwhile, Al Gharafa coach Alain Perrin has quit, a news report on Qatar Football Association website said.
Perrin, the former Al Khor coach, has been replaced by Habib Sadiq for the remainder of the season, the report added.
The former French international has also managed the Qatar Olympic squad last year.
Perrin took over as manager of Olympique Lyonnais in 2007.
In his first season, he led the club to a seventh consecutive Ligue 1 championship title.
He also managed to retain the French Cup which he had won with Sochaux the previous year. He left the club in June 2008.
He was rumoured to take over the position of French national manager, but Raymond Domenech was picked instead.
In November 2008, he became the new manager of Saint-Etienne.
In 2010, Perrin moved to Al Khor before getting the reigns of the Qatar Olympic side a year later.
Last year, he took over at Al Gharafa.
The Peninsula
