Al Duhail and Umm Salal opened their QSL Cup campaign with a victory but defending champions Al Gharafa were held to a draw by Qatar SC. In the first round matches yesterday, Duhail overcame a fighting Al Kharaitiyat 2-1, while Umm Salal edged past Al Arabi 1-0.
Duhail were up and running against Kharaitiyat as Fahad al-Bayati scored in the 25th minute, tapping in from a close range. Just seconds before the half-time whistle, Mohamed Muntari made it 2-0. But Kharaitiyat came fighting back in the second half. The game sprung to life when Abdulla al-Anzi pulled one back for Kharaitiyat in the 74rd minute. Despite a valiant show, Kharaitiyat failed to find the equaliser as Duhail held on for a victory.
For Umm Sallal, a 23rd minute strike from Ismail Mohamed was enough to see off Al Arabi. In a late match at the Qatar SC Stadium, Gharafa and Qatar SC played out a 1-1 draw. Cameroon and Barcelona legend Sameul Eto’o, who joined Qatar SC in the summer transfer window, gave his new club the lead with a 35th minute strike.
Just when it looked like Qatar SC will eke out a victory, Gharafa were given a penalty in the 89th minute. Fuhaid Sattam converted from the spot as the match ended on a stalemate.
In today’s Group B fixtures, Al Sadd will take on Al Shahania (18:10) at Qatar SC Stadium, Al Rayyan face Al Ahli (18:10) at Al Gharafa Stadium, while Al Sailiya and Al Khor clash (20:20) at Al Duhail Stadium.
Al Sadd will play the game without a number of its first team stars, who are away on international duty including nine Qatar national team members, in addition to Algeria’s Baghdad Bounedjah and South Korea’s Jung Woo-young.
The coaching staff are set to try out a number of young faces during the QSL Cup, as they look to give the U-23 players exposure and playing time.
The competition serves its purpose as young players get as much playing time as possible, thereby providing their clubs and the Qatar national team with a wider player pool to choose from, especially since the country is gearing up to compete in the Asian Cup in the UAE in January, 2019.
Fixtures are scheduled during international breaks when the QNB Stars League is stopped.
The clubs were ranked according to their order in last season’s QNB Stars League standings, with promoted Al Shahania replacing relegated Al Markhiya as the last team.
The change in format will see the six-team group stage being followed by knockout quarter-finals instead of four teams directly qualifying for the semifinals last season. The first-four teams from each group advance to the quarter-finals, where the winners of Group A face fourth team of Group B.
The other quarter-finals will be second-placed team of Group A vs third-placed team of Group B, third-placed team of Group A vs second-placed team of Group B and fourth-placed team of Group A vs winners of Group B. The final is scheduled for 2nd February, 2019. While some clubs are preparing with their full squad, others are deprived of it as their overseas professional players are on international duty.
Qatar SC star Sameul Eto’o scores against Al Gharafa in the QSL Cup first round match at the Qatar SC stadium yesterday.
