QNB Stars League: Al-Sadd rack up big 8-1 win over Al-Gharafa

Al-Sadd remained in contention for the top spot of the QNB Stars League with a stunning 8-1 win over Al-Gharafa on Sunday evening. The result means that Al-Sadd raise their tally to 32 points and stay in second place, two behind Al-Duhail who play later in the day.

A hat-trick apiece from Baghdad Bounedjah and Akram Afif powered the Wolves to the big result, while skipper Hassan Al-Haydos and substitute Hassan Ahmed also got on the scoresheet. Mehdi Taremi got the lone goal for Al-Gharafa from a second-half penalty.

The match got off to an exciting start and Bounedjah had a chance to put his side in front in the 11th minute, but his header flew wide of the post. However, the Algerian made amends in the 19th minute with a superb finish to make it 1-0.

It didn’t take long for the second goal to arrive, as Bounedjah turned provider in the 25th minute. It was Afif’s chance to score, and the youngster coolly slotted home past Al-Gharafa keeper Yousuf Hassan after converting Bounedjah’s pass.

Bounedjah then got his second and Al-Sadd’s third of the evening in the 28th minute, converting a cross from Al-Haydos on the right. In the 40th minute, Afif also scored again after rounding the keeper.

At the stroke of halftime, Bounedjah completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after Afif was fouled in the box. This gave Al-Sadd a 5-0 lead going into the break.

In the second half, Al-Gharafa tried to show some resistance and they were awarded a penalty after Saad Al-Dosari brought down Mehdi Taremi. Taremi converted the resultant penalty in the 52nd minute to give his side their first goal.

Al-Sadd soon resumed scoring as Afif also got himself a treble five minutes later. This time too, it was from a penalty. Although the keeper saved his initial effort, Afif made no mistake from the follow-up to make it 6-1.

Al-Haydos then calmly finished off a squared pass from Bounedjah in the 63rd minute, giving Jesualdo Ferreira’s side a seventh goal. The final score would be 8-1 in favour of the Wolves, after subsitute Hassan Ahmed lashed in from close range in the 86th minute.

MATCH DETAILS

Al-Sadd x Al-Gharafa (QNB Stars League Round 14)

Venue:

Thani bin Jassim Stadium

Lineups:

Al-Sadd: Saad Al-Dosari, Pedro Miguel, Hamid Ismail, Abdelkarim Hassan, Khoukhi Boualem, Salem Al-Hajri, Gabi, Tarek Salman (Jung Woo-young), Hassan Al-Haydos (Ahmed Sayyar), Akram Afif (Hassan Ahmed), Baghdad Bounedjah

Al-Gharafa: Yousuf Hassan, Saeed Al-Haj, Tamim Al-Muhaiza, Abdulaziz Hatem, Yousuf Muftah, Mahdi Taremi, Ahmed Alaa (Amro Seraj), Muath Yahya, Diogo Amado, Vladimir Weiss (Abdulghani Muneer), Ilyas Ahmed

Result:

Al-Sadd won 1-0

Goals:

Baghdad Bounedjah 19′, 28′, 45′ (P)

Akram Afif 26′, 40′, 57′

Mehdi Taremi 52′

Hassan Al-Haydos 63′

Hassan Ahmed 86′

Bookings:

Abdelkarim Hassan 66′

Referees:

Match referee: Mohammed Al-Shammari
Linesman 1: Zahi Al-Shammari
Linesman 2: Mohammed Abdulaziz
Fourth official: Ibrahim Al-Dosari
Additional referee 1: Abdulhadi Al-Ruwaili
Additional referee 2: Jamal Hussein