Banias beat Al-Rayyan 3-0 in a club friendly on 25 September 2026. The result ended a three-game unbeaten run for the visitors, who had won their last two before those two defeats. They had taken points from Qatar Sports and Police Club in February, then lost back-to-back away games in March.
To be fair, Al-Rayyan had looked comfortable against weaker opposition earlier in the year. A 3-0 win over Al-Shamal and a 3-1 victory at home to Qatar Sports showed they could dominate when the opposition didn't press. Those performances made the two losses to Al-Arabi and Al-Wakrah harder to understand.
By then, the friendly brought a different kind of test. Banias didn't just hold their nerve against a side with more recent success. They scored three goals without reply, which is not something you do by accident in a friendly. Al-Rayyan had no answers.
The visitors' recent record reads 2 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw across five matches. Three of those results went either way by a single goal. The 3-0 defeat stands out as a different kind of result entirely. Not the kind of scoreline that suggests bad luck.
What matters here is the shift in momentum. Al-Rayyan had built confidence through those February victories, then lost theirs quickly. Banias took control of a match that could have gone either way and didn't let go. The scoreline tells you everything you need to know.
