DOHA: Reigning champions Al Duhail opened their new-season campaign with a 2-1 win over a fighting Al Ahli in Week 1 of the 2023-2024 Expo Stars League at the Al Thumama Stadium on Friday.
For The Red Knights, Kenyan forward Michael Olunga scored the opener in the 21st minute, and French midfielder Ibrahima Diallo headed in the second in the 48th minute.
Al Ahli hit back through Eslam Yassein early in the second session (53rd minute) as he essayed a powerful left-foot kick from about 30 yards, which hit the left top of the crossbar before the ball bounced in.
It was also a strong indication of Al Ahli's resolve, but they could not breach the strong Al Duhail defence thereafter despite several repeated attempts and some quite close ones.
Midway through the second half, Al Ahli’s Ahmad Yasser Sebai did make an attempt from outside the box, but it was saved in the bottom right corner by Al Duhail goalkeeper Salah Zakaria.
While The Red Knights custodian proved his worth, his Al Ahli counterpart Yazan Naim had more to do and, despite his best efforts to keep away the challenging Al Duhail raids, he was beaten twice.
