(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Fawad Hussain
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The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: Homam Al Amin struck twice in the first half and Almoez Ali netted two late goals to fire Al Duhail to a dominant 4-1 victory over Qatar SC restoring their three-point lead in the Ooredoo Stars League yesterday.
Yusuf Abdurrisag netted the winner as Al Sadd climbed back to second place, edging a spirited Al Shamal 1-0, taking their tally to 25 points and moving ahead of Al Ahli on goal difference.
At their home turf of Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, leaders Al Duhail continued their campaign in style with Al Amin giving them an early lead. He cleverly anticipated a set-piece delivery, running onto the ball and calmly slotting it home from close range in the 11th minute.
While Christophe Galtier-coached Al Duhail maintained the upper hand, Qatar SC had their opportunities and Ben Malango should have leveled the score before the half-hour mark. However, his touch from a good position after a precise cross from the right sailed wide.
Al Duhail's Almoez Ali (left) and Homam Al Amin celebrate a goal yesterday.
The missed opportunity proved costly as Al Amin doubled Al Duhail's lead in the 36th minute, carrying the ball from the left and scoring from close range after evading a defender.
Al Duhail goalkeeper Salah Zakaria preserved his team's lead at the one-hour mark diving to his left to deny Jassim Ahmad Al Jalabi's angled strike from the right. Malango thought he had pulled one back in the 76th minute but his goal was ruled out for offside.
Leading Qatari striker Almoez Ali showcased his brilliance late in the match, sprinting from 30 yards outside the box, outpacing defenders to slot the ball into the left-side netting in the 90th minute.
Set up by Al Amin, he made it 4-0 two minutes later with a diving finish from close range off a precise cross.
Youssef Mohammed Ali scored the consolation goal, heading in a cross during the sixth minute of stoppage time as Qatar SC remained in 11th place with 10 points, three ahead of bottom-placed Al Khor.
“We are happy with the win. The team is performing well but we are focused on improving and performing even better,” Al Amin said after Al Duhail's victory.
“Our absence from Asian competitions negatively impacts our team and gives other teams an advantage in terms of competition readiness. We will continue to fight for first place, which has always been our goal.”
Meanwhile, Abdurrisag scored the decisive goal in the 74th minute, chipping in a through pass from Akram Afif to break the deadlock at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Al Sadd goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham was phenomenal in the match making several crucial saves including efforts from Mohammed Al Mannai, Omid Amir and Omar Mohammed.
Luck eluded Al Shamal yesterday as Omar's goal in stoppage time of the first half was cancelled by the referee for a foul on Tarek Salman during the buildup involving Baghdah Bounedjah.
Al Sadd's Ahmed Suhail expressed his satisfaction after the team's victory.
“The players gave their best, and despite the absences, Al Sadd is always a strong team with whoever is available.”
“I admit we didn't reach the expected level at times during the match, but we succeeded in earning the three points. I hope we can maintain this momentum to climb to the top and claim the league title,” he added.
Al Shamal slipped to sixth with 16 points, behind Al Rayyan on goal difference.
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