Sports Reporter/Doha

Uruguay-born striker Sebastian Soria was on target twice in the second half as Lekhwiya, aiming for a hat-trick of QSL titles, handed struggling Al Arabi their 10th defeat in 20 matches.

Tunisian Youssef Mskani  and South Korean Nam Tae Hee and scored the first two goals for Lekhwiya while Serbian Djordje Rakic pulled one back for Al Arabi.

Lekhwiya had conceded the second place to El Jaish for a day when the latter beat Al Kharatiyat, but the defending champions went about their job with clinical precision yesterday to ensure they still are in with a chance when the QSL concludes on April 18 a day when all the 12 teams in the tournament will be seen in action.

Lekhwiya now are on 42 points, just two short of leaders Al Sadd, who however, have played one match less and can stretch their lead to five points again if they beat Al Gharafa on April 6.

The defending champions dominated proceedings throughout and opened their account through a somewhat lucky goal by Mskani in the 17th minute.

Luiz Junior did most of the spadework before lobbing the ball into the penalty area but Al Arabi’s Australian defender Mathew Spiranovic only managed a weak deflection with his attempted aerial clearance for Mskani to place the ball into the net with a gentle lob over Al Arabi goalkeeper Rajab Hamza.

A few minutes later a powerful Soria volley flew over the post from 10 yards but several other missed chances later Lekhwiya were able to consolidate through a brilliant free-kick in the 43rd minute from Nam Tae Hee, who blasted his shot over the ‘wall’ and into the right corner of the net even as goalkeeper Hamza dived in vain.

Al Arabi were hardly in the picture and when Soria slotted home from close after the ball was relayed to him by Mskani in the 49th minute, Lekhwiya had more or less ensured a victory.

Meanwhile, Al Rayyan suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at the hands of Al Wakrah, the ninth placed team on the league table. However, Al Rayyan despite the defeat managed to hold on to their fourth spot