Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Doha: Brazilian striker Wagner Rebeiro scored a hat-trick as El Jaish booked their place in the knockout phase of the AFC Champions League with a 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab on Wednesday.
The Saudi side had already secured their spot in the next phase thanks to their 1-0 win over Tractorsazi on Matchday 4 while El Jaish’s win coupled with Tractorsazi’s defeat at the hands of Al Jazira from the UAE means the Qatari club cannot be overtaken.
That leaves both clubs fighting it out for top spot with one round of matches to go, with Al Shabab still in pole position in Group A, two points ahead of El Jaish, who travel to meet Tractorsazi in Iran on Matchday 6 while Al Shabab host Al Jazira.
“We deserved to win tonight with this big result because we put on an attacking display and we were looking to win the match,” said El Jaish coach Razvan Lucescu. “Our players put in a good performance and they were really motivated to get a positive result.
“We had good motivation and we were serious in our desire to get three points. I thank the players for their good performance, which is improving from one match to the next.”
Wagner Rebeiro opened the scoring just three minutes into the game when he lashed the ball into the roof of the net from close range after Karim Ziani’s run through the heart of the Al Shabab midfield.
The home side were good value for the lead in a first half in which they had the majority of the play. Abdulqadir Adam shinned the ball wide in the 19th minute when he had the goal at his mercy while Anderson (Anderson Vieira Martins) header over the bar just three minutes later.
Al Shabab’s performance was lacklustre, with the Saudis rarely threatening. El Jaish’s Ivanildo Rodrigues was called into action nine minutes before the break when Marcelo Camacho’s free kick was missed by everyone and the Brazil-born naturalised Qatar keeper had to claw the ball to safety.
With El Jaish rarely threatened throughout the second half, the Qataris were in control and they put the result beyond any doubt with seven minutes remaining when Wagner Rebeiro netted again.
This time the Brazilian was left to apply the finishing touch from close range after Magid Mohamed picked the pocket of Walid Jahdali as he brought the ball out of defence before feeding Mohammad Methani on the right and his cross was rolled over the line by Wagner Rebeiro.
With the game three minutes into added time, Wagner Rebeiro completed his hat-trick, controlling Magid Mohamed’s ball forward with his first touch and sweeping his shot beyond Waleed Abdullah with his second.
“I’m really disappointed we lost because we made a lot of mistakes, especially in the last part of the game,” said Al Shabab coach Michel Preud'homme. “We tried our best to win but we failed as El Jaish put in a good performance as well.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect this defeat and I believe that we lost concentration in the final minutes when we were looking to level the scores but we conceded two more goals. But we will try our best to make a good comeback in the next match.”
Photo:WSG