Olunga’s penalty hands 10-man Al Duhail victory

Michael Olunga scored from the spot as 10-man Al Duhail returned to winning ways by beating hosts Al Shamal 1-0 in round seven of the 2021-2022 Qatar Stars League on Monday.

Olunga was fouled inside the box and put the penalty beyond goalkeeper Hassan Dicko. The Senegalese custodian jumped correctly on his right side but the ball was too fast for him to stop.

Things looked to be heading the wrong way for Al Duhail after Belgian Edmilson da Silva was shown a red card after picking his second yellow card of the match in the 48th minute.

However, Al Shamal, which mainly relied on counterattacks, could not find the breakthrough as Al Duhail managed to control the match until the referee blew the final whistle.  

Coach Luis Castro’s Al Duhail went into this match nursing what the Portuguese tactician called “an unexpected loss” after being hammered 4-1 by hosts Al Wakrah on October 21.

Harambee Stars skipper Olunga now tops the Golden Boot race with nine goals, one more than last season’s winner Algeria’s Baghdad Bounedjah, who turns out for defending champions Al Sadd.

League leaders Al Sadd will play their round seven match on Tuesday when they visit Umm Salal. Al Duhail remain in second place with 18 points, same as Al Sadd who won all their first six matches prior to Monday's clash.

Al Shamal is rooted at the bottom of the 12-team league with four points from their seven outings.

Al Duhail will host Qatar SC on October 30 and Xavier Hernandez’s Al Sadd on November 3 before the Fifa international break.