Ooredoo Cup: Al Sadd Blank Al Wakrah

Doha: Al Sadd maintained their dominant run at the Ooredoo Cup, blanking Al Wakrah 3-0 to earn second straight Group A win at Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Stadium, yesterday. 

Umm Salal also registered second straight victory after outplaying Qatar SC 3-1, while Al Ahli claimed their first win of the tournament after a hard-fought 3-2 victory over defending champions Al Sailiya.

Substitutes did the job for Al Sadd after a goalless first half, with striker Baghdad Bounedjah breaking the deadlock in 60th minute with a low strike from just inside the box. Hassan Palang, who also came off the bench, struck in 73rd and 78th minutes to seal the victory. Al Sadd, who defeated Al Sailiya 4-0 in their opening match, lead the group by 6 points followed by Umm Salal (6) and Qatar SC (3 points).

At the Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium, Umm Salal were in business right from the first minute when Ilyes Hameed Brimil scored the opener with a low strike from outside the box. 

After Sebastian Soria leveled the score in 25th minute, Umm Salal struck through Sardor Rashidov (33') and Jonathan Kodjia (47') to secure another victory.

Earlier at the same venue, captain Ali Qaderi, assisted by Abdulrasheed Ibrahim, netted the winner for Al Ahli in 81st minute as Al Sailiya suffered their second straight defeat. 

Al Ahli star Sofiane Hanni took them ahead in the 18th minute but Fares Khaled equalised three minutes later before Carlos Strandberg handed the Peregrines a lead with a strike in 29th minute. 

Al Ahli managed to bounce back with an own goal by Mostafa Mohammed in 51st minute after he deflected Fahad Khalfan's kick from an acute angle before Qaderi's winner.

Meanwhile, the Group B teams will resume their campaigns today, with Al Duhail facing Al Arabi in an exciting clash at Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Stadium. 

Al Duhail thrashed Al Markhiya 8-3 in their first match while Al Arabi – the current QNB Stars League leaders – also got off to a winning start after a 1-0 win over Al Shamal last week.

Today's schedule also includes a tie between Al Rayyan and Al Markhiya at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium, which will also host the match between Al Gharafa and Al Shamal later in the evening. 

Group A (RESULTS)
Al Ahli bt Al Sailiya 3-2 
Umm Salal bt Qatar SC 3-1 
Al Sadd bt Al Wakrah 3-0

Group B (Today) 
5:50pm: Al Markhiya vs Al Rayyan at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium 
8:00pm: Al Shamal vs Al Gharafa at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium 
8:00pm: Al Duhail vs Al Arabi at Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Stadium

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