DOHA: Akram Afif stole the spotlight as defending champions Al Sadd thrashed Al Shahania 4-0 to move to the top of the table in the Qatar Stars League at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium yesterday.
Afif scored a hat-trick while also providing an assist. The win saw Al Sadd’s tally of points move to 32, one-point clear of Al Gharafa, while Al Shahania remained on 11 points.
Al Gharafa went down to
Al Sailiya 0-1 in their match, played simultaneously, at the Grand Hamad Stadium.
Afif scored in the 14th minute (penalty), 50th minute and 83rd minute, while Claudinho scored in the 73rd minute.
Al Sadd were awarded the spot kick after a charging Paulo Silva was brought down inside the box, and Afif converted the penalty kick.
In added time of opening half, Al Shahania’s Moameen Mutasem Ragab struck the bottom left of Al Sadd post. Moments later, another Al Shahania attempt was pushed away by a diving Meshaal Barsham.
Al Sadd hit back in the second half as unmarked Afif essayed his second goal from the left. Claudinho then romped home a left-footer on an Afif assist.
Afif completed his hat-trick after making a sprint and beat a defender and the rival goalkeeper alike.
“We achieved an important victory over Al Shahania, and we climbed to the top after a great effort,” Afif said after the match.
“We have managed to secure many consecutive wins, which has given us the lead deservedly.”
“We were not at our best in the first half, and Al Shahania were able to create chances. But in the second half we improved and scored three consecutive goals,” he added.
Afif, who was named man of the match, noted that achieving eight consecutive league victories is no easy feat.
“We were far behind in the first half, but we managed to secure eight straight wins that put us at the top of the standings,” he said. Meanwhile, a last-gasp goal from Youssef Snana saw Al Sailiya shock fancied rivals Al Gharafa 1-0.
Snana’s goal came off a rebound of a seemingly non-threatening shot by El Ghazi Anwar in one minute of added time, after bad handling by goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar as the hosts secured their fourth win in the league to further move clear of the relegation zone.
Al Sailiya, who are now on 15 points, thought they had gotten an early opener in the fourth minute through Anwar El Ghazi, but a VAR check put paid to that for a foul on Saifeldeen Fadlalla by Cristian Del Bello in the buildup to the goal.
Later at Al Thumama Stadium, Al Shamal beat Al Arabi 2-1, with Omid Ebrahimi converting a 28th-minute penalty and Adam Ounas adding a late goal in the 86th minute. Karl Toko Ekambi pulled one back for Al Arabi in the 66th minute.
The result moved third-placed Al Shamal to 28 points, while Al Arabi, who remain fifth, also sit on 28 points.
