Leonco secures key Muaither win

Tiago Leonco scored a brace to lead Muaither to an important 2-1 win over Umm Salal in the Expo Stars League on Friday. Victory at the Thani Bin Jassim Stadium, helped second-bottom Muaither two points off the relegation zone with Qatar SC occupying the 10th spot with 16 points. Brazilian striker Leonco’s strike came in the sixth and 55th minute. Umm Salal, who are ninth in the table, pulled a goal back through Ilyas Hamid but could not find an equaliser.In the other match on Friday, Al Shamal moved to seventh after a 2-1 win over Al Ahli, who dropped below their rivals.Mohamed Rafik opened the scoring in the 31st minute for Shamal before Ahli equalised through Sekou Yansane’s strike in the 52nd minute. Ricardo Jorges then found the net in the 65th minute, which turned out to be the winner for Shamal.Today, Al Arabi face Al Gharafa at the Al Thumama Stadium, while Qatar SC host Al Wakrah at the Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium. Both matches kick off at 9:30pm.Arabi are currently in fifth place in the standings with 23 points, on the other hand Gharafa are second place with 37 points. Gharafa are looking to continue their good run to remain in contention for the title, while Arabi will be seeking the much-needed three points and to get into the top four.Meanwhile, Qatar SC and Al Wakrah encounter is expected to be exciting. Qatar SC are in 10th place with 16 points and coming from a victory over Al Markhiya, a victory that brought the team back to winning ways after stumbling in a number of previous rounds. As for Al Wakrah, they are in third place with 34 points and they would want to advance further in the ranking table as they continue their chase for the top spot.