DOHA: Al Duhail yesterday rallied in fine fashion to beat Al Kharaitiyat 4-1 in their QNB Stars League (QSL) 10th round clash at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.
Al Kharaitiyat opened the scoring through Romanian midfielder Valentin Lazar in the 23rd minute. But thereafter it was Al Duhail all the way as Bassam Al Rawi (32), Mohammed Moosa Ali (60) and Youssef El Arabi (77 and 85) completed the win for the defending champions.
In the 23rd minute, Al Kharaitiyat’s overseas star Lazar - after a couple of back-heal short passes - swivelled on his feet inside the Al Duhail box and shot the ball past goalkeeper Khalifa Ndiaye with a slick finish.
Just nine minutes later, Al Duhail equalised through Al Rawi off an indirect corner. Al Rawi, stationed close to the goal, latched on to a inadvertent loopy cross from El Arabi and flicked the ball into net before keeper Ahmed Sofyan could effect a stop.
Just before the end of the first half, feared Korean striker Nam Tae-hee curled in a well-taken shot from the edge of Al Kharaitiyat box but the ball narrowly missed the far post with keeper Sofyan completely beaten. When the first half ended, Al Duhail enjoyed most of the ball possession - 67 percent to 23 by Al Kharaitiyat. The defending champions also produced seven corners to just two by their rivals.
A few minutes into the second half and Tae-hee missed a golden opportunity to score from close range when his snap-header was palmed over the crossbar by keeper Sofyan.
However, exactly at the hour-mark, QNB Stars League giants Al Duhail went 2-1 up. Al Duhail defender Ali made the most of an error by Al Kharatiyat’s Abdarahamn Abdallah who jumped high to head the ball away but ended up allowing Ali to flick the ball into the open net.
In the 74th minute, Al Kharatiyat’s Hamroun Jugurtha unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the Al Duhail box but his low shot crashed into the outside of the net.
In the 77th minute, El Arabi easily converted a penalty to give Al Duhail a 3-1 cushion. It was El Arabi’s eighth goal of the season. El Arabi added one more from close range in the 85th minute of the one-sided clash.
