Al Sadd players celebrate.
Doha: Al Duhail suffered a shock 1-2 loss to Umm Salal while Al Sadd gave new coach Javi Gracia a winning start at the QNB Stars League yesterday.
Al Duhail slipped six points behind leaders Sadd after Yassin Bakhit scored a goal and made an assist for the other goals scored by Isael Barbosa in the 85th minute as Umm Salal stunned the former champions at the Al Gharafa Stadium. Ismail Mohamed had given Al Duhail a lead in the 29th minute.
The Red Knights have 22 points to Al Sadd’s 28 points, with the Wolves extending their unbeaten record with a 3-0 win over Al Khor. Umm Salal continued from where they left off before the long break. Their only other victory had come in Week 9 when they beat Al Wakrah 4-1. They are now at sixth spot with 12 points.
The first half was evenly fought by the teams, who also shared the spoils, even though Al Duhail had more of possession. Duhail, with many of their players back in their fold after doing duty for Qatar at the recent FIFA Arab Cup, shot ahead through Ismail Mohamed, with Edmilson Junior assisting him for the goal.
Umm Salal drew level 10 minutes later through Yassin, who capitalized on a defensive mistake by Ismail Mohammed. Yassin’s shot was stopped by Duhail goalkeeper Salah Zakaria, but the ball rolled into the net.
Michael Olunga led Duhail’s charge with Almoez Ali, Edmilson and Ismail Mohamed in supporting roles, while the trio of Ayman Ghadban, Isael Barbosa and Yassin led Umm Salal’s attacks. Umm Salal almost matched the rivals in terms of ball possession and creating chances in the second half.
Umm Salal earned a free-kick from just outside the box in the 68th minute when Duhail defender Toby Alderweireld brought down Isael, but the latter sent the resultant free-kick wide of the target.
Umm Salal players celebrate during their QNB Stars League match against Al Duhail, yesterday.
When the game looked like heading for a draw came Umm Salal’s second goal. Yassin deserved all credit for the goal as his goal bound shot only had to be glided into the net by Isael at the goalmouth. Duhail’s last-ditch efforts for an equalizer did not succeed.
At the Suheim bin Hamad Stadium, Gracia was all smiles as the Spaniard’s tenure got off to a smooth start with three first-half goals ensuring Sadd cruised to an easy win over bottom-placed Al Khor.
Akram Afif (third minute) and Andre Ayew (25th and 40th minutes) scored for Sadd, who have recorded nine victories and one draw so far. The only time Al Sadd dropped points was when they were held to a 3-3 draw by Al Duhail in Week 9 before the league took a six-week break.
On the other hand, Al Khor’s misery compounded as they stood at the bottom with four points after crashing to their sixth defeat. They are the only side yet to register a victory in this season’s QNB Stars League. Gracia replaced his compatriot Xavi Hernandez earlier this month after the latter took over the reins at Barcelona. And the former Watford and Valencia would have been pleased with what he saw yesterday.
Sadd got an early advantage with Akram scoring off a pass from Abdelkarim Hassan, beating Baba Djibril at the goal. Sadd kept up the pressure and succeeded in scoring twice more before the half ended.
At the beginning of the second half, Al Khor missed three chances that fell to Kayke Rodriguez and Ismail al-Haddad. The Sadd defenders and goalkeeper Yousef Abdullah did well in thwarting the rival moves.
In the last match of the day, Al Gharafa and Al Arabi played out a goalless draw. The draw ensured Arabi stay at third spot with 22 points, just two behind Duhail, while Gharafa are fourth with 16 points.
