Michael Olunga struck a hat-trick as Duhail swept past Qatar SC 3-0 to climb to second in the QNB Stars League yesterday. 
At the Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Stadium, Olunga was on fire as he opened the scoring in the fourth minute to give Duhail the lead. The Kenyan striker converted a penalty in the 42nd minute as the home side went into the break with a 2-0 lead. Olunga then put the game to bed with a 66th minute strike as Duhail registered their fourth successive win. 
The former champions are three points behind early leaders Al Arabi, who have 15 points after six matches.
Duhail’s midfielder Khaled Mohamed said the team was back in contention for the title. “We are back in the competition for the title, despite our stumble in the first two matches. The team has recovered thanks to the collective spirit among the players and despite the injuries in the squad we were able to achieve the desired results,” he said. 
Mohamed attributed the team’s victory against Qatar SC to player’s implementing coach’s Hernan Crespo tactics. “It was not an easy match but we applied coach’s tactics throughout the match. We managed to control the possession most of the time, which made us most dangerous,” he added.
Meanwhile, Al Wakrah slipped to third after being held to a 2-2 draw by Al Ahli at the 
Grand Hamad Stadium. Wakrah, in fact, salvaged a point thanks to goals from Mohamed Benyettou and Omid Ebrahimi in the 81st and 89th minutes respectively. Ahli’s had earlier taken a lead through Yazan al-Naimat in the 18th minute before Ali Qadry made it 2-0 in the 60th minute. Wakrah a point behind Duhail, while Ahli are fifth with nine points. 
Earlier, Al Rayyan slumped to another loss after losing to Al Markhiya 1-2 at the Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Stadium. Ayman Hussein (10th minute) and substitute Ali Saeed al-Mohannadi (83rd minute) scored for Al Markhiya, while captain Dame Traore (45+2) was on target for Rayyan. 
Markhiya moved on to seventh with eight points with their second victory, while Rayyan remained on one point after suffering their fifth defeat. The Lions’ only point came from their goalless draw against Umm Salal. They had lost to Al Shamal, Al Arabi, Al Duhail and Al Ahli earlier.
The match witnessed Colombian forward James Rodriguez take the field for the first time this season for Rayyan, amidst speculation of a move to Turkey’s Galatasaray, and following controversial comments he made regarding a move to Spanish side Valencia.  
Rayyan tried to gain control over the midfield and attacked from the flanks, while Markhiya played defensively and mostly resorted to counter-attacks. Rayyan came close to scoring in the seventh minute through Yohan Boli, but his shot went close to the right post, before Iraqi Ayman Hussein managed to put Markhiya in the lead with a deceptive shot from the edge of the penalty box that beat Al Rayyan goalkeeper Fahad Younes.
Markhiya’s Moroccan Driss Fettouhi was denied by the crossbar in the 35th minute. Rayyan managed to equalise in stoppage time of first half when Traore headed in a corner kick into the Al Markhiya net.
Rayyan appeared more determined in the second half even as the rivals adopted a cautious approach. After both sides missed chances, Ali Saeed netted Al Markhiya’s winner off a pass from Jugurtha Hamroun.