Zubydeh Alhadithi
Over the weekend, The Ooredooo Stars League kicked off its 7th round which impacted the standings and changed the narrative of this season’s table.
On Friday, three games were scheduled to take place. Notable matches included Al Rayyan defeating Al Khor 2-1, solidifying their position in 8th place with 9 points while Al Khor remained in the relegation spot on 3 points. Al Rayyan scored two goals an own goal by their former striker Yohan Boli (5’) and Roger Guedes (82’), while Al Khor’s sole goal came from Boli in the 10th minute.
Al Gharafa also secured an important 3-1 victory against Umm Salal moving them up to 4th place with 11 points while Umm Salal hold the 7th spot in the league table with 10 points. Al Gharafa delivered a strong performance despite Umm Salal’s Antonio Mance scoring first in the 49th minute. A penalty from Joselu in the 62nd minute was followed by two more goals from Sassi (88’) and Jamal Hamed (90+8).
In a thrilling encounter, Al Sadd dominated Al Shahania with a 4-2 win, moving them into the top three standings for the 2024/2025 Ooredoo Stars League. The first goal quickly came through in the 2nd minute from Al Sadd’s Meshaal, followed by Mujica (19), Gonzalez (23’), and an own goal from Van Amersfoort in the 78th minute. Both of Al Shahaniya’s goals were scored by Koroma during the 54th and 89th minute. Al Shahaniya maintain their 11th place on the table with this defeat.
On Saturday, another three games were set to take place in the QSL. Starting off with Al Shamal, who delivered a strong 5-2 performance, where they comfortably defeated Al Arabi by showcasing their offensive abilities. Bounedjah scored an opening goal within the first minute of the game. In an attempt to strike back, Al Arabi delivered two goals from Aladdin (7’) and Al Nuaimat (16’). However, they were crushed by defeat as Al Arabi went on to score four more goals from Omar (21’, 31’) and two more goals from Bounedjah (45+2’, 82’) completing his hatrick. This result means Al Arabi currently stands in 9th place while Al Shamal is in 6th place with 10 points.
In a high-stakes battle for first place, Al Duhail emerged victorious with a 1-0 win against 2nd place Al Ahli. A 42nd-minute goal from forward Olunga helped Al-Duhail climb to 18 points at the top of the standings while Al Ahli remain in 2nd place with a 4 points behind.
Finally, Al Wakrah suffered a 2-1 defeat to Qatar SC away from home after Alahdi Ali Mukhtar received a red card bringing the team down to 10 men which was quickly taken advantage of by Qatar SC goals by Palangi (41’) and Mahmoudi (87’) secured the important win. The loss for Al Wakrah meant a move down from 3rd place to 5th with 11 points. Meanwhile, Qatar SC climbed out of the relegation zone to 10th place with 7 points.