Duhail, Umm Salal pick full points

Al Duhail and Umm Salal registered contrasting wins to pick up full points while Al Ahli and Al Gharafa shared points in the opening round matches of the QNB Stars League (QSL) yesterday.
Defending champions Lekhwiya, playing under the new name of Al Duhail, were stretched to the limit by Qatar SC in a fighting 3-2 verdict at Duhail Stadium with the winner coming in injury time.
The hosts needed a 90th minute winner from star striker Yusef El Arabi, to register a narrow win over the newly promoted Qatar SC.
Al Duhail made a dream start and opened the scoring in the 18th minute. Attacker Almoez Ali latched onto through neat lofted ball from South Korean playmaker Nam Tae Hee and the Qateri international shrugged off the defender before stroking the ball into the back of the net from a tight angle.
Credit to Qatar SC, they played well in the first half and found parity with ten minutes left in the half. Duhail keeper Khalifa Abacar spilled a shot that fell into the path of Kings midfielder Ali Jassami, the former Al Arabi player had plenty of time and space to find the back of the net, despite the Duhail keeper getting a hand on the shot. The first half finished honours even at 1-1.
Understandably Duhail came out in the second half with renewed vigour and began to dominate play. Club Captain Yusef Msakni registered the first chance of note of the second half on the 47th minute, which was well saved by the feet of keeper Rajab Hamza.
Djamel Belmadi’s side pushed hard to find a second and pressure eventually tolled on the 77th minute. Substitute Ismael Mohammed found Moroccan international El Arabi with a drilled cross, and last season’s top scorer made no mistake from close range to give Duhail a 2-1 lead.

The tie changed just four minutes later when Qatar SC found an equaliser against the run of play. Good hold up play from Habib Habibou saw the striker play a neat ball to Omar Al Amadi. The midfielder was decisive and his effort found it’s way into the back of the net, through the arms of keeper Khalifa Abcar.
With 90 minutes on the clock Duhail’s late pressure paid off as El Arabi bagged a scored via a fortuitous deflection to give the Red Knights the win.
Elsewhere, Umm Salal on the other hand had a smooth passage with a resounding 3-1 win over Al Kharaitiyat.
Midfielder Ismail Mahmoud broke the deadlock in the 29th minute with a fierce shot from 25 yards out to give Mahmoud Jaber’s side a deserved lead.
Umm Salal doubled their lead from the penalty spot Ivorian striker Yannick Saghbo coolly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way before the half time whistle.
Al Kharaitiyat fought back in the second half and were able to pull a goal back on 71st minute as Mehadi Al Khamasi pounced on a ball and drilled the ball low into the bottom corner.
However, Umm Salal grabbed a third to seal the win deep into injury time. Substitute Abdulaziz Al-Yahri masterfully beat the Kharaitiyat offside trap to calmly slot it past the goalkeeper and pick up all three points for the Orange Fortress.
At Al Gharafa’s, Thani Bin Jassim Stadium the home team shared the spoils in the 1-1 draw with Al Ahli.
With barely a minute into play Al Ahli got their season off to a flying start with Colombian striker, Cristian Nazirit giving the lead.
In the 70th minute, Al Gharafa’s substitute Luis Jimenez set up Ilyas Mohamed with a defense splitting pass, with the last named slotting home from close range to secure a well-deserved equaliser for Gharafa.