Al Wakrah’s Amine Zouhzouh (left) celebrates with teammates after converting a penalty against Al Duhail.
Doha: Al Wakrah registered their first victory of the Qatar Stars League (QSL) season, defeating 10-man Al Duhail 1-0 at Khalifa International Stadium yesterday.
Amine Zouhzouh scored the winner from the penalty spot in the 10th minute after being fouled by Ibrahima Bamba, giving Al Wakrah an early lead in a lively first half.
Al Duhail’s Adil Boulbina came close to equalising just after the half-hour mark, but his close-range effort was blocked by Al Wakrah goalkeeper Saoud Mubarak Al-Khater.
Al Duhail’s night worsened in the 35th minute when they were reduced to 10 men. Goalkeeper Salah Zakaria was sent off for handling the ball outside the box as he attempted to stop a misjudged back pass from Jean-Charles Castelletto, with Ayoub Assal charging forward.
Substitute keeper Bautista Burke came on, and from the resulting free-kick, Redouane Berkane found the net only for the goal to be ruled out following a lengthy VAR check.
Thirteen minutes of stoppage time were added to the first half, during which Aissa Laidouni nearly extended Al Wakrah’s lead, rattling the crossbar just before the break.
Al Duhail’s best chance to level came in the 77th minute when Krzysztof Piatek headed over from a lobbed pass as Al Wakrah held on to secure their first win of the season.
The result saw Al Duhail drop to ninth place with one point from two matches, following a draw against Al Shahania. Al Wakrah moved up to fourth in the standings with four points.
Umm Salal secure first win of QSL season
At Al Bayt Stadium, Umm Salal also earned their first win of the season, defeating Al Shahania 2-0.
Al Shahania started brightly and thought they had taken the lead in the 28th minute through Lotfi Madjer, but his effort was disallowed for a foul in the build-up.
Petrus Amersfoort had another opportunity in the 42nd minute but failed to convert, lobbing over from a promising position.
Just a minute later, Umm Salal capitalised. Captain Oussama Tannane fired home a powerful left-footed strike after an assist from Adil Tahif, beating goalkeeper Shehab Ellethy despite a fingertip touch.
Umm Salal doubled their lead shortly after the break. In the 47th minute, Jean Kouassi slotted in from close range following a precise through ball from Antonio Mance.
Al Shahania’s hopes of a comeback were dealt a major blow in the 61st minute when Mohamed Bader Sayyar was shown a second yellow card, leaving his team with 10 men.
Ellethy denied Mance in the 83rd minute with a strong save to prevent further damage, but the two goals were enough for Umm Salal to claim the full three points.
The victory lifted Umm Salal to seventh in the standings, while Al Shahania dropped to 10th with just one point.
Umm Salal's Adil Tahif praised his team’s performance and discipline in securing the win.
“From the start, we were determined to win and earn the three points. We stuck closely to the game plan set by the coaching staff,” he said.
“It was a tough match, especially at the beginning, but we got the result we needed. We must build on this in the coming games,” he added.
Al Shamal, Al Gharafa, and Qatar SC lead the standings after two rounds, having won their respective matches.
