Al Sailiya rallied brilliantly from a goal down to beat Al Duhail 3-1 in Round 2 (Group A) of the 2020-21 Ooredoo Cup at the Qatar Sports Club yesterday.
Al Duhail’s main domestic rivals Al Sadd also suffered a shock defeat, with Qatar Sports Club overcoming a two-goal deficit before winning 3-2.
Earlier, Ahmed Hamoudan’s 13th minute goal and a brace from Tiago Bezerra (52nd and 76th minutes) ensured a crucial win for Al Sailiya. Hamoudan had cancelled out Eduardo Rodriguez’s (Dudu) early advantage for Al Duhail.
Al Sailiya, who had lost big-time (1-5) to Al Khor in the opening round, had reinforced their squad ahead of the new season.
It was the first match of reigning QNB Stars League champions Al Duhail, who have just parted ways with their Moroccan coach Walid Regragui by mutual consent, in the tournament as their fixture against Al Sadd in Round 1 was postponed owing to both teams’ campaigns in the 2020 AFC Champions League.
Al Duhail opened the scoring through Dudu in the third minute, with Ali Afif doing the spadework along the left flank before crossing the ball for the Brazilian to shoot home.
Al Sailiya equalised through Hammoudan in the 13th minute as he placed the ball in with an opportunistic strike past goalkeeper Ahmed Gamal and three defenders after latching on to a through pass from Nadir Belhadj.
Though Al Duhail controlled the game early, Al Sailiya gradually found their groove. Belhadj’s beaming shot from far flew over the bar.
Dudu then sent a free-kick over the crossbar on the stroke of half-time.
Al Duhail replaced goalkeeper Gamal with Ahmed Sufiyan soon after resumption of play, but Al Sailiya maintained the momentum.
The Peregrines scored a second time when Tiago came up with a diving header off a corner kick.
Tiago was at it again in the 67th minute, but this time he headed a Belhadj free-kick against the left post.
But the Brazilian, who switched from Al Khor ahead of the start of this season, was not to be denied and was on target in the 76th minute, capitalising on a defensive lapse at the rival goal.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd struck twice in a span of three minutes against Qatar Sports Club with Rami Suhail and Saoud al-Nasser finding the net in the 26th and 28th minutes.
But Qatar Sports Club returned with renewed vigour after half-time and began asserting themselves.
They were rewarded with their first goal in the 52nd minute when Brazilian forward Kayke ran down the left flank unchallenged in a solo move and shot between three defenders from just outside the box.
Kayke made it even in the 58th minute with another fine effort, this time after intercepting a great pass by Nasir Baksh between two defenders just outside the penalty area.
Five minutes later, Abdulaziz Adel got himself at the end of a fine free-kick by Nasser Ibrahim to nod home the winner.
In the third match of the day, Al Wakrah beat Al Khor 2-1, with Cristian Ceballos and Mohamed Benyettou on target for the winners.
Al Khor had taken the lead through Ahmed al-Mohannadi in the 26th minute but missed a host of opportunities to allow Al Wakrah to turn the tables on them.
Al Sailiya’s Tiago Bezerra (right) celebrates his goal during the Ooredoo Cup match against Al Duhail at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium yesterday. (Twitter/QSL)
