Baghdad hat-trick in Sadd’s 5-0 win over Al Ahli

Baghdad Bounedjah scored a four goals as Al Sadd kept the heat on leaders Al Duhail with a with a 5-0 hammering of Al Ahli in Week 18 of the QNB Stars League yesterday.Al Sadd moved to 46 points, two less than table toppers Al Duhail who had beaten Al Khor 4-0 on Saturday. Al Ahli remained on 19 points.Striker Bounedjah scored in the fifth, 55th, 75th and 81st minutes of the game, dominated by The Wolves, especially in the second session, in front of home crowd. Jugurtha Hamroun scored the fifth goal (90+2).Al Sadd, who had won their first two matches in the AFC Champions League, started without key players Xavi Hernandez, Hassan al-Haydous and Boualem Khoukhi. And Pedro sat out serving a suspension.  Algerian Bounedjah, who now has 12 goals to his credit in the QNB Stars League, gave Al Sadd an early advantage, but the game was slow-paced in the first half.Akram Afif then had the disappointment of being thwarted by Al Ahli goalkeeper Yazan Naim.Al Sadd started the second session by introducing Xavi, in place of Ali Asad, and Khoukhi for Yasir Abubakr.Yassine Chikhaoui fought like a one-man army in the Al Ahli midfield. On the other hand, Xavi made some impact with his creative moves.Bounedjah’s second goal came in training-session fashion as he flicked in the ball off a cross from Abdelkarim Hassan.Al Ahli, who were without Meshaal Abdullah, brought in striker Mohammed Muntari, back from a long injury layoff, soon after one hour, but The Brigadiers could not find the net for once.Khoukhi almost made it 5-0, but cracked his rising shot against the horizontal. After Bounedjah added two more goals, Hamroun completed the tally with literally the last kick of the match. Meanwhile, riding on Abderrazaq Hamdallah’s two goals, Al Rayyan defeated hosts Qatar SC 4-0.Hamdallah (25th and 37th minutes), Mohsine Moutouali (62nd) and Rodrigo Tabata (83rd) scored the goals.The total number of goals netted by Hamdallah in this season’s QNB Stars League thus stands at 15, while Tabata took his tally to 12.Qatar SC were coming off back-to-back wins against Al Sailiya and Al Ahli. However, The Kings could not do much against the determined Lions.Al Rayyan made clear their intentions right from the start. And their top scorer, Moroccan striker Hamdallah, was in the thick of the action by scoring twice after missing an easy chance.Hamdallah’s first goal came following an assist by Moroccan midfielder Moutouali, while South Korean Koh Myong-Jin paved the way for the second.That Al Rayyan had 61 per cent of ball possession at the end of opening session was a reflection of their dominance.