Juma strike gives Al Rayyan narrow win over Al Arabi

A 37th minute strike from Mohamed Juma gave Al Rayyan a narrow 1-0 victory over Al Arabi in their much-anticipated QNB Stars League clash yesterday.The three points gave the Lions temporary top spot in the standings with 11, while Al Arabi have nine.The matches involving leaders Al Sadd and Al Duhail have been postponed because they would be playing their crucial AFC Champions League matches early next week. Al Sadd and Al Duhail were to play Al Khor and Al Sailiya respectively tomorrow.Al Arabi were coming off two consecutive wins, but could not extend their winning run on home turf.However, Luka Bonacic’s men can take solace from the fact that they gave a tough fight to Al Rayyan.Al Rayyan dominated the first half with 66 per cent possession during which they were rewarded with the winning goal. The percentage fell to 56 on completion of the game as Al Arabi showed more alacrity in the second session.The goal came as a result of a long lob into the Al Arabi box. After the ball hit the crossbar over the head of goalkeeper Masoud Zarayi following Al Arabi’s Mudir Abdurabu’s faulty clearance, Juma was on hand to head home the rebound.Juma had a good game even as Rodrigo Tabata and Sebastian Soria were rather off-colour. Al Arabi goalkeeper Zarayi too was good under the bar, but for the goal that turned out to be crucial.Al Arabi’s attacks lacked teeth overall. The likes of Franco Hurtado, Diego Jardel and Mailson de Farias could not make inroads into the rival area. The Dream Team had a goal ruled offside in the 87th minute when Mohammed El Neel found the mark off a pass from Mailson.Al Rayyan’s Argentinian striker Jonathan Menendez, who joined them from Independiente, made his QNB Stars League debut when he replaced Khalfan Ibrahim after one hour.In the second match yesterday, Al Shahania beat Qatar Sports Club 3-2. Jean-Paul Kesse, Sultan al-Kuwari and Mesaad al-Hamad scored for Al Shahania, while Samuel Eto’o and Yousef Mohamed were on target for Qatar Sports Club.