Almoez nets a brace as Duhail thump Shamal

Table toppers Al Duhail claimed an emphatic 6-2 victory over Al Shamal in the Qatar Stars League at the Al Khor Stadium today, with captain Almoez Ali hitting a brace.Almoez’s goals came in the 45+5 minute (penalty) and 77th minute, while Lucas Verissimo (11th minute), Michael Olunga (23rd minute) and Luis Alberto (51st minute) added a goal each, with The Red Knights also being gifted an own goal in the 28th minute through Al Shamal’s Mohammed Musa. Al Shamal’s goals came through Younes Belhanda (37th minute) and Baghdad Bounedjah (73rd minute).The thumping win ensured Duhail retained their four-point lead at the top after Al Sadd had closed the gap on Friday with a last-gasp 2-1 win over Al Rayyan. Shamal remain in eighth place with 10 pointsAs expected, Duhail were in no mood to lose ground in the battle to maintain their position at the top of the league and they took charge of things right from the blast of the opening whistle, having a series of opportunities within the first 10 minutes of play through Ismaeel Mohammad and Alberto, whose attempts at goal went inches wide within five minutes of each other.The Red Knights, however, did not have to wait for too long before registering the opening goal, with Verissimo nodding home from close range an inch-perfect overhead cross by Alberto in the 11th minute, to the delight of the visitors fans and bench.Unsatisfied with their one-goal lead, Al Duhail continued pressing Al Shamal for more and they almost got the second in the 18th minute, only for the upright to deny Benjamin Bourigeaud’s right-footed attempt from outside the box.Six minutes later, Olunga doubled the lead for Al Duhail with a low-driven angled shot that located the bottom right side of goalkeeper Babacar Seck’s goal.By the 28th minute, things turned from bad to worse for Al Shamal as Musa turned the ball into his own net in an attempt to clear a cross from Homam al-Ameen to give Al Duhail an unassailable 3-0 lead.Al Shamal got a leg back in the game in the 37th minute through a moment of brilliance by Belhanda who, after collecting the ball from Bounedjah, waltzed his way past Al Duhail’s defence before unleashing a ferocious left-footed shot from the edge of the box that sealed straight into the top right-hand corner of Al Duhail’s goal.Al Duhail almost got their three-goal lead restored in the 45th minute through Olunga, but goalkeeper Seck was on hand to do justice to the Kenyan international’s jumping header.The Red Knights eventually got their desire four minutes into added time, with Almoez firing home from the spot after Olunga was fouled by Musa inside the 18-yard box to make it 4-1 to the coach Christophe Galtier men heading into the half-time.The second half was no different from the first, with Al Duhail not letting go of their stranglehold on the match with their high-pressing attack upfront and compact defence which gives little or no space for Al Shamal to operate.The high-scoring Al Duhail, who had before the match scored 21 goals in eight matches, added their fifth of the night in the 51st minute through Alberto from 25 yards out to all but seal the fate of Al Shamal.League’s top scorer Bounedjah proved his mettle in the 73rd minute when he pulled one back for Al Shamal with a fine display worthy of a quality striker of his calibre. Four minutes later, Al Duhail got their four-goal lead back through Almoez, with Olunga providing the assist to ensure that Al Duhail come out tops in the eight-goal fiesta.Meanwhile, Al Ahli climbed to third place in the table after a 2-1 win over Al Shahania at the Al Thumama. Ahli led through Marc Muniesa’s own goal in the 14th minute before Abdulrahman Masoud scored the equaliser for Shahania in the 70th minute. In stoppage time, Eric Hernandez scored the winning goal for Ahli.Earlier, Al Wakrah defeated 10-man Umm Salal 3-0 at the Al Janoub Stadium. Wakrah took lead through Aissa Laidouni’s seventh minute strike. Ayoub Assal added a second in the 81st minute, before Gelson Dala sealed the game with a 89-minute goal. Wakrah are now up to fifth place, while Umm Salal dropped to sixth place.