Tribune News Network
Doha
A brace from Edmilson Junior powered Al Duhail to a 2-0 win over Al Wakrah in the Ooredoo Stars League at Al Janoub Stadium on Saturday.
Edmilson’s goal came in the 13th and 27th minutes as the Red Knights maintained their perfect start to the season, having won all four of their matches to garner the maximum 12 points.
Christophe Galtier’s men now have a two-point advantage over second-placed Al Ahli, while reigning champions Al Sadd – who were stunned by Umm Salal on Friday – are third with six points adrift of the leaders.
Al Wakrah, meanwhile, remain on five points in seven place, having won one and drawn two of their previous matches.
Al Duhail were clearly the better of the two sides from the start with waves of relentless attacks as they searched for an early goal. After several attempts, Wakrah’s defence eventually caved in the 13th minute, with Edmilson opening the scoring with arguably a goal-of-the-week contender, superbly curling in the ball from the edge of the box beyond the reach of the hapless goalkeeper Mohammed Al Bakri.
The Red Knights were saved from being reduced to ten men five minutes later, with Michael Olunga initially giving the red card for a foul on Wakrah’s Hamdy Fathy, but the decision was rescinded after a lengthy VAR check with a yellow card awarded instead.
Edmilson was on hand again in the 27th minute to secure his brace of the night with another spectacular strike, dazzling his way past Wakrah’s defense before releasing a left-footed shot from a tight angle that sailed straight to the top side of goalkeeper Al Bakri’s net.
Duhail continued to up the pressure against their opponents, but some brilliant performances by Wakrah’s backline prevented what could have been additional goals for the league leaders going into halftime.
Three minutes into the second half, Duhail were eventually reduced to ten men, with Ibrahima Diallo getting his second booking for a rough tackle on Fathy. The Blue Wave seized the opportunity of their one-man advantage as they became more daring upfront in an attempt to cut the deficit and possibly rescue a point in the entertaining encounter.
Jacinto Dala missed what could have been a simple tap-in into an empty net in the 78th minute following a headed pass from substitute Yousef El Khatib, but the Angolan international somehow missed the ball.
Despite several pressures from Wakrah, especially towards the end of the game, Duhail hung on to victory.
Earlier, Al Ahli jumped to second place with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Qatar SC at the Khalifa International Stadium. Former PSG star Julian Draxler scored the most important goal for Al Ahli in the 70th minute.Their third successive win saw The Brigadiers take their points tally to 10, while Qatar SC are still on three points.
The tight-fisted contest saw a lot of attacking action from both sides. There were several close hits including one in the 21st minute when Qatar SC came close to scoring after a Carlos Vinicius strike was saved by Ahli goalkeeper Marwan Sherif, but resulting action saw a Ben Malango kick hit the right post and fall away.
The deadlock was eventually broken in the 70th minute as an Oumar Sekou kick spilled out of an outstretched Qatar SC custodian Motasem al-Bustami’s hands and Draxler rushed to kick the ball into the net.
Meanwhile, Al Arabi continued their poor start to the season after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Al Khor at the Al Thumama Stadium. AbdalazizAl Hasia came off the bench to restore parity for Al Khor in 90+4 minute after Ahmed Alaaeldin had put Arabi ahead in the 32nd minute. With the result, both teams are now on three points, having won no matches so far in the new season.