Al Duhail's Michael Olunga celebrates with his team-mates.
Doha: Striker Michael Olunga scored a superb hat-trick as Al Duhail blanked Qatar SC 3-0 to go second in QNB Stars League (QSL) at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, yesterday.
Olunga, the leading scorer of the last QSL season, was in sensational form as he struck an early goal in the fourth minute and converted a penalty in the 42nd minute, before sealing victory with a strike in 66th minute.
After their fourth victory, the Red Knights replaced Al Wakrah in the standings with 13 points.
Meanwhile, Al Wakrah scored two late goals to pull off a thrilling 2-2 draw against Al Ahli at the Grand Hamad Stadium.
Al Ahli took a two-goal lead after Yazan Al Naimat (18’) and Ali Qadry (60’) were on target before the Blue Waves staged a fightback with goals from Mohamed Benyettou (81’) and Omid Ebrahimi (89’) to secure a point.
However, Al Wakrah slipped to third with 12 points while Al Ahli stayed fourth with nine points, with Al Arabi leading the table with 15 points at the conclusion of Week 6.
Earlier yesterday, Al Rayyan woes continued after they suffered a 1-2 defeat to Al Markhiya at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.
Substitute Ali Saeed Al Mohannadi scored winner in the 83rd minute for the Abdullah Mubarak-coached side, which defeated defending champions Al Sadd in the season-opener.
Ayman Hussein gave them the lead with a 10th-minute strike before captain Dame Traore (45+2’) scored equaliser for Al Rayyan.
It was fifth defeat for bottom-placed Al Rayyan, who only have one point to their credit while promoted Al Markhiya moved to eight points after their second win.
“We are back in the competition for the title, despite our stumble in the first two matches," said Al Duhail midfielder Khaled Mohamed.
"The team has recovered thanks to the collective spirit among the players and despite the injuries in the squad we were able to achieve the desired results,” he said.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd coach Juan Manuel Lillo was dejected at a shock defeat to Al Shamal in their Week 6 clash on Tuesday.
The defending champions went ahead early with Andre Ayew’s goal in the seventh minute before Al Shamal scored two goals in the first half to seal victory.
“We had a strong start and managed to take lead but we failed to maintain the performance after that. We didn’t play with the spirit required to win matches and missed opportunity to earn points,” said Lillo.
“Some of the decisions against us also affected the outcome of the game and Al Shamal took advantage of that,” he added. The coach said the team must make a strong comeback in the next match.
“We must focus on our preparation to win the next match,” he said.
After their third defeat of the season, Al Sadd remained on seven points with two wins and a draw.
