(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Defending champions Lekhwiya yesterday crushed Al Ahli 3-1 to seal their fourth Qatar Stars League (QSL) title with a round to spare, capping a dream start for Danish coach Michael Laudrup who stepped in at the start of the season last August.
Goals by Ali Hasan Yahia (12) and Tunisian international Youseff Meskni (25 and 84) erased the effort of Al Ahli striker Meshal Abdullah (17) as football powerhouse Lekhwiya eased to a convincing win on home soil.
When the referee blew the final whistle, Lekhwiya's stalwarts Sebastian Soria and Nam Tae-Hee joined other substitutes to pull on special jerseys depicting the team's title triumph.
It was Lekhwiya's fourth title win in five years and first under new coach Laudrup who took over the side from Belgian Eric Gerets just before the start of the season last year.
Lekhwiya, who entered big-time football in the 2010-11 season, won the QSL title under Djamel Belmadi the first two years but slipped behind champions Al Sadd in the 2012-13 season.
However, with Laudrup marshalling his troops, Lekhwiya overcame the 2012-13 hiccup by managing an unassailable lead of 59 points with a round to spare.
In other matches yesterday, Al Sadd crushed El Jaish 5-2, Umm Salal hammered Qatar SC 3-0 while Al Kharaitiyat beat Al Gharafa 3-1. After round 25, Lekhwiya have 59 points followed by Al Sadd (54) and El Jaish (44). Qatar SC (43) and Al Gharafa (36) complete the top-five in QSL title race with one round to go.
Dressed in a blue shirt over a pair of denims, Laudrup presented a muted celebration when Msekni fired a close-range shot into the back of Al Ahli, justminutes before the final whistle.
Yahia opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a close-range shot beating Al Ahli goalkeeper Amer Al Dosari with a neat deflection after a pass from the wing.
Al Ahli's Abdullah produced a snap-header from close range to score the equaliser in the 17th minute as Lekhwiya goalkeeper Ivanildo Rodrigues failed to stop the ball. In the 25th minute, Al Ahli's Fred Dabenka committed a schoolboy error, clearing the ball as far as Msekni who was standing near the Al Ahli box.
Msekni picked up the 'lucky' ball and fired a bullet for Lekhwiya's second goal.
After a drag for most part of second half, Msekni provided a bit of Tunisian magic as he hoodwinked his marker and scored his team's third goal.
Laudrup, 50, was measured with his replies when asked to comment on the team's successful run in the 2014-15 season.
"It has been a great season so far," Laudrup said. "Sometimes they (Al Sadd) were ahead and then we were ahead. In the end we managed to go ahead by five points," the popular Dane said.
"For me it's always a nice experience to be coaching in a new place," Laudrup said.
"I have done coaching in nine countries. Playing and coaching is a fantastic experience," Laudrup added. "Now I am here only one season. We still have 6 weeks to go so let's see where we end," he added
"We will try for another challenge," he said hinting at the fact that Emir Cup and Qatar Cup events are yet to start. "We are still in the (AFC) Champions League.
"You know it was a typical start in the AFC Champions League. We have seven points and next game is in 10 days. Maybe we will have an important game in Saudi later on," he added.
Lekhwiya's Khalid Muftah said: "It was a tough season in the league. People thought that we'd win with ease. We kept trying and kept fighting."
Yahia said after the match: "This triumph is important. We got good support from the fans. We struggled at the start of this match. The performances now have been really good."
Tunisian striker Msekni said: "We have won this but we still have important events to look at. We have the AFC Champions League games. We have to be ready for Qatar Cup and Emir Cup also. There was a lot of pressure since most teams want to beat us. We played well as a unit. That was the key actually."
Defender Ismael Mohammed said: "It has been a memorable season. We all worked hard. We fought well. This is the beginning. In the AFC Champions League we've played well. I think we can carry this form into other events remaining in the season."
Qatar Football Association (QFA) Vice President Saud Al Mohannadi handed over the QSL Shield. QFA Secretary General Mansoor Al Ansari was also present.
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