The Peninsula
Kenyan striker Michael Olunga scored a brace as Al Duhail inched closer to regaining the QNB Stars League (QSL) title after edging Umm Salal 2-1 at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, on Saturday.
The victory took leaders Al Duhail to 48 points, opening a five-point lead over second place Al Arabi after Al Wakrah dented their title hopes with a 2-1 victory. Mohamed Khaled smashed a stoppage time winner for the Blue Waves.
Also on Saturday, bottom side Al Sailiya trounced Al Ahli 4-0 for a morale-boosting win.
Olunga converted a spot kick to put Al Duhail into lead in 45+3 minutes and scored the winning goal in 64th minute after Umm Salal captain Adil Rhaili leveled score in 45+6 minutes.
A rash tackle by Rhaili against Ferjani Sassi resulted in a penalty kick in Al Duhail’s favour after VAR check. Olunga sent goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar the other way with a strike in the left corner.
Rhaili, however, shortly made amend heading the ball in from a close range following a corner kick to level the score just before the breather.
Olunga scored his second goal off a rebound from Ababacar after the Umm Salal goalkeeper blocked Almoez Ali’s hit from a distance in a counter attack.
The Red Knights retained their lead to earn crucial three points with only two rounds left in the top flight. Al Duhail now face Al Sadd in their penultimate match on May 4 before their final league match against Al Shamal.
At Grand Hamad Stadium, Yusuf Abdurisag tapped into an open goal in 34th minute to give Al Wakrah lead over hosts Al Arabi after the ball ricocheted off the post following an initial attempt from Hazem Ahmed.
Al Arabi equalised through Omar Al Somah’s penalty kick in 82nd minute after Sainsbury Lucas was penalised for a handball inside the box after a corner kick.
Khaled, however, sealed the victory for Al Wakrah with a goal in first minute of stoppage time as the Blue Waves climbed to fourth in the standings with 33 points, replacing Al Gharafa with a one-point lead over the Cheetahs.
Meanwhile, Carlos Strandberg was star for Al Sailiya in their impressive win over 10-man Al Ahli at Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium.
Sergio Vittor scored opener for Al Sailiya in 34th minute with Strandberg striking in 61 and 86 minutes after Yazan Al Naimat was sent off in 59th minute.
Hassan Ahmed rounded off the victory with a goal in 90+2 minutes as Al Sailiya moved to 13 points – three behind Umm Salal.
Al Sadd eye second spot
Meanwhile, Al Sadd’s Musaab Khidir said finishing second from this stage in the league would satisfy the defending champions.
Al Sadd, placed third in the standings, blanked Al Rayyan 2-0 in Qatar Clasico on Friday to move to 41 points – two behind second place Al Arabi.
“We earned coveted three points after winning the match deservingly as we were a better side. “We always enter every match with a winning mentality, regardless of the opponent or other teams,” Khidir said after the win.
“Finishing in second place [in the QSL] is definitely better than finishing in third,” he said.
“We have two more matches left in the league, and then we have the Amir Cup final, which is very important to us.”
Al Sadd will meet Al Arabi in the Amir Cup final at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on May 12.