Captain al-Haydos shines in 100th match as Qatar ease past Palestine 3-0 in friendly

Hassan al-Haydos made his 100th international match a memorable one by starring in Qatar’s 3-0 victory over Palestine at the Khalifa International Stadium yesterday.The national skipper provided the assist from which Almoez Ali struck in the third minute before scoring one himself in the 30th as Qatar recorded their second straight friendly win, following their 1-0 victory over China last Friday.Qatar’s second goal was scored Akram Afif in the 20th minute.“It is a great honour to score in my 100th match,” the 27-year-old al-Haydos said. “It has been an exciting journey so far,” he added.Before the start of the match he was gifted a Qatar jersey by Qatar Football Association president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani with the number ‘100’ emblazoned over it.“That was a very special moment. It will inspire me to give my best for Qatar,” said al-Haydos, who made his debut in 2007.Qatar were expected to cruise past Palestine and that pretty much prove the case yesterday as they stamped their authority early.In the third minute, Almoez Ali, who had netted the winning goal against China last week, found himself in perfect position inside the box to nod in a cross from the right by al-Haydos.The early goal shocked Palestine and they could never find their composure after that.After a couple of close calls, Qatar consolidated in the 20th minute with Afif drilling the ball into the net from close after dribbling past the last defender following a through pass from Abdulaziz Hatem.Afif then missed a sitter, his header hitting the post off an al-Haydos pass.A few minutes later, al-Haydos found the mark, chesting down a rebound to fire home for Qatar’s third goal.The Palestinians, whose struggles are well known, put up an improved performance in the second half to prevent the Qataris from scoring, which they would take as a positive.