The second round of Qatar Stars League-action saw plenty of goals and the first managerial departure of the season.
Here are the highlights:
Big shoes to fill at Al Rayyan
Not many people would have thought that QSL champions Al Rayyan would be suffering a management crisis following just the second round of the season. However, the Lions face a big problem going into the three-week international break.
Head coach Jorge Fossati has accepted the call of the Qatar Football Association to return as the national team boss ahead of two crunch World Cup 2018 qualifiers against South Korea and Syria.
Head coach and fellow Uruguayan Jose Daniel Carreno was relieved of his duties on Thursday, after opening the third-and-final round of World Cup 2018 qualifiers with two-consecutive defeats to Iran and Uzbekistan. This has left Al Anabi in a precipitous position.
The Al Rayyan hierarchy will now have to move quickly to find a worthy replacement for the man who gave the Lions their first QSL falcon shield in 21 years, otherwise their title defence could end in a whimper.
Title contenders strike late
The second round of QSL action saw two important late goals for sides that will be looking to be in the title shake up come the end of the 2016/17 campaign.
El Jaish – who meet Al Ain in the first leg of their AFC Champions League semi-final tomorrow – needed a stoppage-time winner from Romarinho to defeat a spirited Al Arabi 4-3.
Gerardo Pelusso’s side showed plenty of character to battle back from two goals behind to take a 3-2 lead in the match. However, Sabri Lamouchi’s boys kept their composure and scored two goals in the final five minutes, including an individual strike of real quality from Brazilian forward Romarinho to steal the points away from the Dream Team.
Lekhwiya also struck in stoppage time to defeat Al Gharafa 5-4 in a nine-goal thriller. South Korea forward Nam Tae-hee capped off a fine personal performance with a hat-trick, including a last gasp free kick, to maintain Lekhwiya’s unbeaten start.
Supporters will be hoping for more of the same from the diminutive Korean over the course of the season as the Red Knights look to regain the QSL falcon shield.