Caitlin Dillon
Qatar placed themselves firmly back in the running with an astonishing 6-0 victory over Yemen in round two of the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup at Khalifa International Stadium.
Goals from Almoez Ali, Akram Afif and Abdulla Al-Ahrak, as well as a record-equalling hat trick from Abdelkarim Hassan, allowed Qatar to grab a well-deserved three points.
The Qatari side dominated the encounter from the get-go, rendering Qatar’s opening goal an inevitability. But with nine white shirts in the box for the majority of the first half, the home team initially struggled to break through.
A 22nd minute chance, in which Pedro shot through the defence and set up Almoez Ali, expertly anticipated by the Yemeni goalkeeper, left Qatar feeling the pressure. This was further compounded by a forced substitution in the 27th minute, when Abdulaziz Hatem, the sole goal scorer from their opening match, sustained a shoulder injury, and Karim Boudiaf came off the bench to stand in his place.
All was not lost, however, as just two minutes later Boudiaf assisted Abdelkarim Hassan’s first unescapable goal for Qatar, off the back of Akram Afif’s corner, as the country breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Abdelkarim had been Qatar’s most impressive player during Qatar’s opener against Iraq, but seemed to lack confidence following his red card during Al Sadd’s semi-final clash with Al Hilal. Confidence restored, the Asian Footballer of the Year went on to score what will likely go down as ‘goal of the competition’ eight minutes later.
Almoez Ali, the AFC Asian Cup’s top scorer, made sure his presence in the competition was known in the 57th minute, effortlessly slotting the ball under the crossbar, straight into the side of the net.
In the 72nd minute, Qatar were awarded a penalty for a Yemen handball, which a re-invigorated Abdelkarim gladly stepped up for. Firing the ball straight down the middle, Abdelkarim completed his hat trick, upping Qatar’s goals to 4, whilst bringing his personal tally in line with the UAE’s Ali Mabkhout as the competition’s top scorer.
Abdullah Al-Ahrak, who is currently on loan to Al Ahli from Al Duhail, was responsible for Qatar’s stunning 5th goal – an almost mirror image of Abdelkarim Hassan’s 37th minute 30-yarder. And, of course, no six-goal-lead would be complete without local hero Akram Afif getting his name on the scoresheet as well.
Tonight’s 6-0 victory for Qatar leaves the host nation firmly in second place in group A, behind Iraq. The UAE sits in third with three points and +1 goal difference, while Yemen remain at the bottom of the group, having yet to collect a point.