Qatar SC beat Al Rayyan 2-1 in a gripping quarterfinal at the Grand Hamad Stadium of Al Arabi club on Thursday to gain a place in the semifinals of 2023-2024 season Ooredoo Cup.

It was a fine performance from Qatar SC, who gained an early lead and later fetched the winner in the second half before holding off a charging Al Rayyan in the later stages of the match to assure themselves of the semifinal berth.

Abdulla Al Ahrak (12th minute) and Ben Malango (62nd minute) were the goal scorers for Qatar SC, while for Al Rayyan Gabriel Pereira scored off a penalty in 45+5 minute.

The opening goal for Qatar SC came from a well-co-ordinated move down the left as captain Ali Bujaloof sent across a super pass from inside the ‘D’ to the top of the box from where Al Ahrak drove in a successful kick into the far right corner of the net.

Al Rayyan, rattled by the goal, now made efforts to make amends as Qatar SC defence marked the rival players well. In the 39th and 41st minutes, however, Al Rayyan had two good half chances, but they could not find a finish.

In the added injury time of the first half, The Lions got their first big chance as Qatar SC’s Abdulrahman Al Korbi handled the ball inside the danger area while trying to tackle Khaled Muftah. Al Korbi was a bit unfortunate as the ball rolled up from his own boot onto his hand.

The referee called for the spot kick after VAR check and Pereira scored to draw parity at 1-1 for Al Rayyan.

In the second session, Al Rayyan tried to dominate, but Qatar SC kept making forays and midway found success as Malango tried to get hold of a lob inside the box, but was tackled. Soon, Khaled Mahmoudi from the left sent in a cross and Malango this time was in perfect position near the left post to deflect the ball in.

Al Rayyan tried hard towards the end as the game picked up more pace, but Qatar SC goalkeeper Motasem Al Bustami made some good saves to deny the rivals any chance of a comeback.