Al Duhail's Michael Olunga (right) in action against Umm Salal's Aymen Abdennour yesterday.
Doha: Al Duhail yesterday defeated Umm Salal 6-1 in the penultimate round of the QNB Stars League (QSL) at the Al Gharafa Stadium.
Michael Olunga (12th minute), Sultan Al Breik (45th minute), Paulo Edmilson Junior (48th minute), Abdulrahman Mohammed (51st and 77th minutes) and Rashid Al Abdullah (86th minute) scored for Al Duhail.
Yassin Al Bakhit scored Umm Salal’s only goal in the 83rd minute.
Al Duhail raised their tally to 46 points with their 14th victory, while Umm Salal remained on 25 points following their eighth defeat and fifth successive loss.
In hindsight, Al Duhail reaped the rewards for putting up an organised display, whereas Umm Salal paid for their lack of cohesion in all departments of the game.
Al Duhail attacked from the start and took the lead when Olunga headed in a measured corner kick taken by Edmilson, leaving the Umm Salal defenders and goalkeeper Khalifa Aboobacker hapless.
Action during the match between Al Arabi and Umm Salal, yesterday.
Al Duhail controlled the game and Edmilson sent his shot against the left post following his brilliant dribble-in into the rival goal area in the 35th minute.
Olunga and Edmilson led the Red Knights’ attack, with support from Abdulrahman Mohammed, who later scored a couple of goals.
Two minutes after the Umm Salal goalkeeper saved Abdulrahman Mohammed’s long-range shot came Al Duhail’s second goal, with Al Breik finding the target.
Al Duhail made merry in the second half as Edmilson and young Rashid too got on to the score sheet apart from Abdulrahman Mohammed’s goals.
Al Bakhit’s goal was the only reply Umm Salal had to show for their efforts. He had a ground shot saved by Al Duhail goalkeeper Salah Zakaria in the 65th minute.
Meanwhile, depleted Al Arabi sealed a crucial 3-2 victory over Al Gharafa in their bid for a top-four finish.
After Al Gharafa took a lead from Sofiane Hanni’s fifth minute strike at the Grand Hamad Stadium, Adama Diomande scored a brace for the Dream Team, netting the ball in 23rd and 55th minutes.
Cheick Diabate leveled the score for Al Gharafa in 76th minute before Ibrahim Kala scored the winner (90+9) for Al Arabi late into stoppage time.
Al Arabi were reduced to 10 men after Hamid Ismail was sent off in the 35th minute.
The win took Al Arabi to fourth place, with fifth-placed Al Gharafa trailing them by three points ahead of the final QSL round.
Al Sadd (56 points), Al Duhail (46) and Al Wakrah (37) have confirmed the top three positions on the table.
