Al Duhail unbeaten run came to an end as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Al Gharafa in a thrilling match at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.
Al Duhail fielded a strong starting lineup:
(1) Salah Zakaria “Goalkeeper” – (3) Lucas Verissimo – (5) Bassam Al Rawi – (8) Paulo Edmilson – (10) Luis Alberto – (11) Al Moez Ali – (14) Michael Olunga – (19) Benjamin Bourigeaud – (22) Ibrahim Kader – (24) Humam Al Amin – (27) Ibrahima Diallo.
While the players sitting on the bench for Al Duhail were as follows:
(30) Bautista Burki “Goalkeeper” – (96) Amir Katool “Goalkeeper” – (4) Mohamed Ayash – (7) Ismail Mohamed – (12) Karim Boudiaf – (18) Sultan Al Brake – (23) Ahmed Al Sayed – (25) Mubarak Shanan – (29) Rashed Al Abdullah.
Minute 23 witnessed Al Duhail first real chance on Al Gharafa’s goal after Michael Olunga took advantage of Luis Alberto’s magical pass to fire a powerful left-footed shot that went just wide of Al Gharafa left post.
Our player Ibrahima Diallo failed to take advantage of Al Moez Ali’s perfect pass in the 37th minute, which he received inside the penalty area to pass a cross that passed safely into the arms of Al Gharafa goalkeeper.
Minute 41 witnessed one of the dangerous opportunities for our team after a brilliant dribble by Edmilson Junior from the penalty spot.
Minute 43 witnessed Al Duhail most dangerous chance in the first half after Benjamin Bourigeaud passed a through ball to Luis Alberto who turned it with his heel to reach Al Moez Ali who penetrated and shot the ball into the outer net of Al Gharafa goal, wasting the chance of the first goal for Al Duhail.
Minute 55: After a wonderful exchange of balls between Al Moez Ali and Luis Alberto, it ended with a cross pass from the right side by Al Moez Ali, which was successfully concluded by the team top scorer Michael Olunga with a shot into the net, announcing Al Duhail first goal in the match.
Minute 66: Al Duhail almost scored a second goal after Ibrahima Diallo passed a wonderful through pass behind Al Gharafa defense to Michael Olunga, who was running at speed, and he was alone in front of Al Gharafa goal to shoot a low, creeping shot that Al Gharafa’s goalkeeper managed to keep away from his team goal, preserving the only goal difference in favor of Al Duhail.
Minute 73: From a new attack by Al Duhail from the left side after Humam Al Amin penetrated behind Al Gharafa defense, who sent a dangerous cross inside the penalty area, Al Gharafa goalkeeper managed to keep it away from his goal again.
Quickly, two minutes later, Al Moez Ali, the team captain, tried to reach Al Gharafa goal by shooting from outside the penalty area, but Al Gharafa goalkeeper returned again to protect his team goal from a new goal.
Minute 84: A quick penetration by our team captain Al Moez Ali between Al Gharafa defenses, who was close to adding a second goal for our team, but his shot went just wide of the post.
Minute 87: Al Gharafa equalized, and the match returned to square one.
The third minute of stoppage time saw Al Gharafa goalkeeper save a direct free kick on the edge of Al Gharafa penalty area, which Luis Alberto shot with great skill, and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
With this draw, our team’s score rises to 19 points, maintaining its lead in the league, 4 points ahead of Al Sadd and Al Ahli.
Despite dominating the match, Al Duhail were unable to find a winner. The draw means that they remain top of the league but their lead has been cut to four points.
Summary of Goals:
Minute 55: Michael Olunga
Summary of Cards:
Minute 25: Al Moez Ali (Yellow Card)
Minute 34: Michael Olunga (Yellow Card)
Summary of Substitutions:
Minute 70: Karim Boudiaf (In) – Edmilson Junior (Out)
Minute 90: Ismail Mohamed (In) – Al Moez Ali (Out)
