From left: Sultan Al Brake Bassam, Hisham Al Rawi, Al Duhail’s Almoez Ali celebrate after the latter scored a goal against Al Khor during their QNB Stars League (QSL)match played at the Khalifa International Stadium yesterday. Pictures by: Abdul Basit /
Doha: Reigning champions Al Duhail yesterday displayed a spirited performance to thrash Al Khor 6-0 and register their second successive win at QNB Stars League at Khalifa International Stadium.
Also yesterday, Al Gharafa opened their account in the new season after edging Al Sailiya 2-1 at Al Sadd Stadium.
Coach Nabil Maaloul’s Al Duhail, who defeated promoted Al Shahaniya 3-0 in their first match, were ruthless against Al Khor especially in the second half in which they scored four goals.
Al Anabi youngster Almoez Ali and Brazilian Edmilson scored a brace each for Al Duhail while Youssef El Arabi and Nam Tae-Hee were the other goal scorers.
Al Duhail, shrugging off injuries to key players - forward Ismail Mohammed and midfielder Karim Boudiaf – started off aggressively and put Al Khor under pressure right from the start.
Their repeated attacks brought them dividend when a 10th minute move earned them a penalty resulting in their opening goal. It was star striker El Arabi, who opened the scoring with a clinical kick, directing it to the right corner, completely dodging Al Khor goalkeeper Baba Djibril Kane.
The goal intensified Al Duhail’s appetite for more goals as they accelerated their attacks to double their lead. El Arabi could have scored his second goal in the 20th minute but his header just missed the target with goalie beaten all ends up.
Earlier, Al Khor got their first realistic chance to score a goal but Rebin Sulaka’s attempt wasn’t convincing enough and Al Duhail goalkeeper Lecoumet Kloud Amin faced little difficulty in collecting the ball.
It was Al Duhail who succeeded in doubling their lead with Ali scoring his first goal in a commendable fashion in 23rd minute. The Qatar’s U-23 star got hold of the ball on the top of the box from where he managed to beat two defenders before firing the ball past Djibril Kane.
There was no further scoring in the first session as Al Khor goal was disallowed after Hamad Mansour Mohsen was adjudged off side by the referee in the 34th minute.
The breather energised the defending champions who wreaked havoc in Al Khor defenses with a flurry of attacks and scored four more goals within a span of 15 minutes for a 6-0 thrashing.
Brazilian Edmilson scored his first goal of the match in the 57th minute while two minutes later, Korean Tae-Hee took the lead to 4-0 by scoring on a rebound from a goalie on El Arabi’s attempt.
After just three minutes, Edmilson scored his second goal with Ali completing his brace in 73rd minute to seal a huge victory.
Al Khor coach Adel Sellimi must have been a relieved man as his team managed to contain the score-line blocking further fiery attacks from Al Duhail.
Earlier, at the same venue, captain Wesley Sneijder’s strike on a penalty and Vadimir Weiss’ field goal ensured first victory for Al Gharafa following a shock defeat to Qatar SC in their opening match. Rachid Tiberkanine was the scorer for Al Sailiya.
