Romarinho’s hat-trick helps El Jaish go top

Doha:   El Jaish beat Umm Salal 4-2 at Lekhwiya Stadium  yesterday to end the Orange Fortress’s unbeaten run in the Qatar Stars League (QSL).
Sabri Lamouchi’s side now have four wins from five matches and took their points tally to 13 points.
After a balanced opening 10 minutes, El Jaish began dominating possession and the first clear cut chance of the game came on the 17th minute when their Brazilian danger man, Romarinho, found himself on the end of a lovely chipped pass into the 18 yard box. The former Corinthian’s player was unable to find the target and his volleyed shot went well wide of the post.
Umm Salal, who were without their commanding goalkeeper Baba Malick, Yannick Sagbo, began to play on the counter and after 23 minutes, their in-form Tha’er Bawab found himself with the ball at his feet just eight yards from goal after number 11, Hilal Mohammed, cleverly dummied a low driving cross. Despite Bawab managing to control the cross, he was unable to get a shot off before Jaish defender Murah Naji made a fine block.
With 30 minutes gone, El Jaish managed to break the deadlock and take the lead. Umm Salal’s Ismail Mahmoud brought down El Jaish’s Mohamed Al-Yazidi on the edge of the 18 yard box and gifted The Soldiers a free kick in a dangerous area. Dead-ball specialist, Romarinho, stepped up to take the free kick and his looping right foot strike smashed into the crossbar.
The rebound fell kindly for El Jaish’s Captain Seydou Keita, who managed to stab home his own rebound on the 31st minute after also hitting the bar with his first attempt.  The first half finished one nil to Jaish but the score soon doubled after the referee blew for the second half and after a mere 30 seconds, El Jaish made it 2-0 as Keita made it a goal and an assist with a lovely cut back to Romarinho who found himself in acres of space, calmly finishing the ball from 12 yards out.
 Things went from bad to worse for the Orange Fortress and just two minutes later, Mohamed Al-Yazidi was brought down again in the area for a penalty.
Romarinho stepped up and converted from the spot to make it 3-0 with a powerful strike that left the goalkeeper with no chance.
 To add to what was already a dismal second half for Umm Salal, Romarinho sealed his hat-trick on the 61st minute after the Brazilian found himself on the end of a pin point cross from Murah Naji, leaping above two defenders to head a powerful header home and all but see off the tie.
 Umm Salal had a late rally after an 86th minute penalty from IsmailMahmoud made it 4-1, and an 89th minute goal from on-loan SC Braga midfielder, Alef Santos, made it 4-2. Despite the late surge, it finished 4-2 and El Jaish will sit atop of the table.
 Today, Al Gharafa takes on Al Sadd, in what promises to be a fascinating clash between two old QSL rivals.
Gharafa head coach Pedro Caixinia assured his side has enjoyed a good run against Al Sadd recently.
“When we face the top 4 teams we have good results and I believe that will be the same going into the match against Al Sadd. First time we played them we drew 1-1 and the second time we lost in the Emir Cup so we are in good form against Al Sadd.”
The Portuguese tactician also stressed that his side are aiming to strike first against the current QSL league leaders, and is targeting a victory to kick start their campaign.
“I’m not happy on taking a point from this game. Not the moment, we are only thinking about three points. When we played last season against the top sides they often scored first and we managed to draw so right now we are aiming to score first in this match. Sadd are one of the best teams in Qatar who are in good form right now, but they have weaknesses we will be looking to exploit going into the tie.”
His opposite number Jesaldo Ferriera said: “Al Gharafa are a strong team, despite the results they have had.  They have played well, and their performances have not reciprocated the result. They have good players and are organized in defense.”