Olunga scores another hat-trick as Al Duhail beat Al Arabi

Doha: Striker Micheal Olunga scored his second hat-trick in six days as Al Duhail beat Al Arabi 3-2 in the Group B of Ooredoo Cup while Al Markhiya rallied to hold Al Rayyan 1-1 in Round 2 yesterday. 

Returning to action following a dominant 8-3 win over Al Markhiya last week, Al Duhail and Olunga wasted no time as the Kenyan star scored his first goal in the second minute of the game.

As Al Arabi sought an equaliser, Rami Suhail thought he had pulled the goal back in the 36th minute but he was declared offside. 

The Dream Team, however, managed to level through Ibrahim Nasser Kalla, who struck in the 53rd minute before Olunga struck again in the 61st minute to put Al Duhail in command.

Olunga continued his brilliance and completed his hat-trick in the 70th minute, and Hamed Ismail pulled one back in the 85th minute from a penalty kick, but it could not prevent Al Arabi from their first defeat of the tournament.

The victory took Al Duhail’s points tally to six at the top of the table while Al Arabi stayed in the third place.

Earlier, at Al Gharafa Stadium, Al Markhiya were trailing 0-1 at half-time, after Hisham Kamal conceded an own goal in the 42nd minute, but they bounced back early in the second half with a goal from Abdulhadi Amin Noman in the 61st minute. The result meant both teams earned their first points in the Ooredoo Cup this season. 

Al Rayyan are third in the points table in Group B now, having scored three goals in their loss to Al Gharafa in the first round (3-4). On the other hand, yesterday’s draw was a sigh of relief for Al Markhiya, who were crushed by Al Duhail last week. 

Later, at the same venue, hosts Al Gharafa and Al Shamal shared points following a goalless stalemate.