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Red Knights wrest first leg of Last 16; second leg to be in Doha next week
Ayeni Olusegun
Doha
Al Duhail extended their perfect run in the AFC Champions League (ACL) as the Red Knights thumped Al Ain 4-2 in the first leg of the AFC Champions League round of 16 clash at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, UAE on Tuesday.
In the process, Al Duhail became only the second team to win seven straight games in the ACL.
Goals from Yousef El Arabi, Name Tae-hee, Ismaeel Mohammed and Almoez Ali gives Al Duhail and advantage going into the second leg despite two late goals from the hosts.
The feisty encounter saw three yellow cards and a red card for Al Ain's Caio for a tackle right under the referee's nose. The referee also made some controversial no calls as Al Duhail had two clear shouts for a penalty.
Al Duhail scored the first goal 16 minutes into the match as QNB Stars League top goal-scorer Yousef El Arabi pounced on a rebound from Almoez's strike for his seventh goal in the Champions League. His goal puts the Moroccan level with Baghdad Bounedjah atop the top scorers'chart.
The goal seemed to rejuvenate Al Ain and they missed two chances in a minute to level the tie. Tsukasa Shiotani shot straight at Al Duhail's Amine Lecomte but the goalie was able to put a clear fist out to parry wide. Brazilian Caio also rifled a shot just narrowly wide off the top corner of Lecomte's goal.
However, Duhail doubled their lead six minutes before half time. South Korean Nam Tae-hee scored a goal of the season contender after receiving the ball in his half from Mohammed. The midfielder nutmegged his marker and ran half the field before slotting home past a hapless Khalid Essa.
Ismaeel Mohammed bagged Al Duhail's third, three minutes into the second half with a fine chip over an onrushing Essa after being put through by Almoez.
Nam turned provider as Almoez scored the fourth in the 55th minute.
The Qatar striker's fierce left-footed shot whistled past Essa in goal.
Substitutes Ahmed Khalil and Ibrahim Diaky pulled two goals back for the hosts.
Khalil headed home from close range from an Omar Abdurrahman's cross in the 68th minute. Diaky reacted quickly to a rebound in the box as Lecomte could only parry Abdulrahman's free kick onto his path in the 86th minute.
Scoreline: Al Duhail 4 (Youssef El Arabi 16’, Nam Tae-hee 39’, Ismail Mohammad 48’, Almoez Ali 55’) bt Al Ain 2 (Ahmed Khalil 68’, Ibrahim Diaky 86’)
