MOTORSPORT | Page 7 CRICKET | Page 9 Alonso being Warner hits ton To Advertise here considered as Australia Call: 444 11 300, 444 66 621 as Rosberg’s reclaim series replacement over N. Zealand Wednesday, December 7, 2016 FOOTBALL Rabia I 8, 1438 AH ‘Lucky’ Zidane GULF TIMES determined to win group SPORT Page 3 QATAR STARS LEAGUE Lekhwiya beat Jaish 2-1, cut lead at top to one point Two deflected goals give Lekhwiya the victory in what will be a tough result to take for Jaish coach Sabri Lamouchi By Sports Reporter net on the rebound. Doha The win means that Jaish’s lead at the top of the QSL standings has now been cut down to one point, with Le- ekhwiya cut down El Jaish’s khwiya hot on their heels. lead at the top of the QSL ta- ble with a narrow 2-1 win over Honours even between Al Kharaitiyat Ltheir rivals in a top-of-the- and Al Ahli table game yesterday. The fi rst half saw Yousef Adam’s Al Ahli took the lead in few chances exchanged, but opened up the fi rst half but could not hold on for in the second half. Two defl ected goals the win as Kharaitiyat ended up draw- gave Lekhwiya the win, in what will be ing the game courtesy of an own goal a tough result to take for Jaish coach from John Benson. Sabri Lamouchi. Al Ahli opened the scoring in the The fi rst half was a cagey aff air with eighteenth minute with a headed goal both sides sizing each other up in the from their captain Meshal Abdulla. opening exchanges. Lekhwiya registered Ndombe Mubele knocked in a fi ne their fi rst chance of the tie with twenty cross and found strike-partner Abdul- minutes on the clock. Winger Ismael la who leaped above his marker to head Mohammed picked out Ali Afi f, however the ball over the keeper, Ahmed Su- his curled eff ort fl ew just wide. fyan and into the goal. The talismanic Djamel Belmadi’s side slowly begun striker got his name on the scoresheet to ramp up the pressure on their table- for the seventh time this season ensur- topping rivals and began to dominate ing his status as one of the best players the play as the fi rst half progressed. The in the league. closest Lekhwiya came to a goal in the Meshal Abdulla had a chance to add opening half was in the 33rd minute. The a second goal in the seventieth minute lively Mohammed Ismael was denied on but his eff ort was saved by Ahmed Suf- the line by Jaish defender Lucas Mendes yan in the Kharaitiyat goal. Kharaitiyat who put his body on the line to deny Le- had a chance to level when Abdelhadi khwiya the opening goal. Ameen passed the ball to Erik Paartalu Lekhiwya where limited to few inside the box whose improvised shot chances by Jaish in the opening half, hit the bar and fell to Jeremy Bokila, however they did manage one more who blasted the ball out of play. chance before the break. Lekhwiya In the eighty-second minute, midfi elder Luiz Martin found strik- Kharaitiyat won a free kick and the er Yusef al-Arabi and was promptly resulting shot ended up in the goal to pounced on by Saoud al-Khater. level the score line. Anwar Diba’s free The second half was again a tight kick came off Al Ahli defender John aff air, however Lekhwiya fortuitously Benson’s head and went straight in took the lead with the game heading for an own goal. Ahmed al-Ajlani’s into the fi nal twenty minutes. Substi- Kharaitiyat held on for the fi nal ten tute Yusef Msakni was picked out on minutes to register an important point Lekhwiya players celebrate a goal against El Jaish during their Qatar Stars League match yesterday. PICTURES: Shemeer Rasheed the right hand side. The Tunisian in- for themselves. ternational unleashed a shot from the The result leaves both teams in the Al Sailiya goalkeeper Gregory Gomis. Results left hand side which bounced off Lucas same position in the table. Al Ahli Minutes later Muaither’s Brazilian Mendes and into the back of the net. now have ten points from as many midfi elder William Schuster raced to- Al Sailiya 1 – 0 Muaither Jaish didn’t waste any time and games and are eighth in the table while wards the Al Sailiya goal but with only Al Kharaitiyat 1 – 1 Al Ahli promptly found their way back into the Kharaitiyat languish in the relegation goalkeeper to beat, he misfi red as the El Jaish 1 – 2 Lekhwiya SC tie two minutes later. Star striker Ro- zone with six points from ten games. ball ricocheted off the legs of keeper Al Shahania 1 – 2 Al Arabi marinho struck his eleventh goal of the Gomis in the tenth minute. season, the QSL player of the month Korbi strikes to defeat Muaither Seconds later, Al Sailiya notched for November skipped by a static Chico Al Sailiya were thoroughly tested by their fi rst chance of note thanks to blocked by Muaither goalkeeper Za- Flores and drilled a low shot into the newcomers Muaither as the men in Cameroonian import Paul Efoulou. idan. The loose ball fell to the feet of back of the net to pull Lamouchi’s side blue won a hard-fought clash 1-0 at The 33-year-old striker hoodwinked al-Korbi who headed home with con- back into the game. Al Ahli stadium. Al Sailiya’s Sayaf al- Muaither defenders Huthaifa al-Sale- summate ease to give his side the lead. The once tight and tetchy game Korbi produced the only goal of the mi and Saeed Eisa before slotting the In the first 20 minutes of the sec- opened out with both sides looking match in the 34th minute of the round ball past keeper Basel Zaidan but the ond half, Muaither clearly showed for the vital win. Fortune favoured Le- 10 clash in the QSL. shot narrowly missed the goalpost. greater urgency to find the equaliser khwiya and they grabbed a winner in Muaither striker Ayoub Ouadrassi In the 34th minute, Al Sailiya opened but lack of quality in front of the Al Salemi wasted an open-goal chance minute, a missed chance by Ayoub the 80th minute. Substitute Moez Ali’s missed two easy chances in the fi rst the scoring through al-Korbi. Mubark Saliya goalmouth restricted the new- when he ended up touching the ball Ouadrassi from close range summed shot pinballed off two Jaish defenders seven minutes, both from close range al-Saadi produced a cross from the ly promoted side. with his hand in an attempt to defl ect up the day for Muaither who produced and found its way into the back of the shots that were expertly blocked by fl ank only to see a team-mate’s header Two minutes later, Muaither’s al- a header from close range. In the 84th sustained attacks in the second half. BOTTOMLINE QFA wins AFC Dream Asia award for Koora Time Koora Time was developed by Shell. The prestigious AFC Dream Asia ticipants. BMI is a measure of body fat “At Qatar Shell we are committed the QFA and Qatar Shell and is Award is given to an outstanding Mem- based on height and weight. to supporting the Qatar National designed to improve the health ber Association in recognition and ap- In recognition for its positive impact Vision 2030 by working with and well-being of Qatar’s youth preciation of its social development on the health of youth, Koora Time has Qatari partners to create and through football work through football. been the recipient of numerous awards deliver long-term contributions Koora Time is a fi ve-year sustain- including the ‘Sports Industry Award’ to society that generate By Sports Reporter able initiative designed to improve for Best CSR Initiative, ‘CSR Award measurable social impact” Doha the health and well-being of Qatar’s Qatar’ for Best CSR Impact Initiative, youth through football. The initiative the ‘Dar Al Sharq Corporate Social Re- QFA’s CSR strategy which aims to con- facilitates access to additional hours sponsibility Award’ for the Best Sports stantly leverage on its existing part- he Qatar Football Association of physical activity and more oppor- Initiative, and the ‘2014 AFC Dream nerships to educate the communities (QFA) was named winner of tunities and spaces to play football. of Asia Award’ in the area of social re- about the positive values of playing the Asian Football Confedera- The fl agship programme Il’Ab We’Yana sponsibility. football and inspire the youth to play Ttion (AFC) Dream Asia Award provides each child with an additional Since Koora Time’s inauguration in football at the AFC Annual Awards 2016 gala 72 hours of physical activity over its 18- March 2013, QFA and Qatar Shell have “At Qatar Shell we are committed to event in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. The week duration. witnessed some truly fantastic results. supporting the Qatar National Vision QFA claimed this year’s social respon- Since its launch in March 2013, the These international awards acknowl- 2030 by working with Qatari partners sibility accolade for the second time in programme has benefi ted over 17,500 edge just how much the two organisa- to create and deliver long-term contri- three years, recognising the success of children across Qatar. Last year’s pro- tions can contribute to society in hopes butions to society that generate meas- the Koora Time Initiative which was gramme saw a signifi cant reduction in that others are inspired to follow suit.