Bounedjah hits hat-trick as Al Sadd rout Al Kharaitiyat

Baghdad Bounedjah, whose exploits were central to Al Sadd’s second-place finish last season, sounded an ominous warning to his team’s QNB Stars League rivals by recording a fine hat-trick against Al Kharaitiyat in their first match of the 2018-19 season yesterday.

Bounedjah, who was also instrumental in Al Sadd reaching the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League, hardly faced any trouble from the Al Kharaitiyat defence, all his three goals coming in the second half of the match at the Khalifa International Stadium.

The Algerian struck in the 53rd, 89th and 92nd minutes, while Akram Afif added two (8th and 88th minutes). A 78th-minute own goal from Abdrahman Mahamet added to Al Kharaitiyat’s misery.

Al Kharaitiyat could have taken a surprise early lead, but Mahir Issa’s free header in the first minute was directed straight at the goalkeeper when he should have done better.

It did not take The Wolves too long to make Al Kharaitiyat pay for that miss, thanks to Under-23 star Akram. With the ball dropping to him in the box, he coolly set his body and curled his left-footed shot emphatically into the far corner.

From there on, Al Sadd were able to dominate the rest of the opening 45 minutes and went close to increasing the lead through Bounedjah.

The second half was a much more productive affair with Al Sadd dominating possession and waiting for the opposition to make mistakes.

The breakthrough came via a penalty when Salim was penalised for a handball in the area. Bounedjah made no mistake with the spot kick as he drilled the ball straight down the middle to make it 2-0.

Al Sadd’s dominance was further demonstrated when Al Kharaitiyat’s Abdrahman Mahamat scored an own goal after some neat exchanges outside the penalty area.

Bounedjah then added another as he latched onto Hamid Ismail’s low cross to poke home, with Afif then scoring with a cool finish before Bounedjah completed a comprehensive hat-trick to make it 6-0.

Meanwhile, holders Al Duhail survived a first-half scare by promoted side Al Shahania before registering a comfortable 3-0 win . Last two seasons’ top scorer Yousef El Arabi (59th and 72nd minutes) and Nam Tae-hee (63rd) scored the goals.

Al Shahania put up a gutsy fight on their return to the top flight, only to fade away in the second half. They played with 10 men after Nadir Awadh received his marching orders from referee Salman Falahi for fouling Ismail Mohammed in the 52nd minute.

That largely affected Spanish coach Jose Murcia’s game plan and they completely lost the plot.

Both teams missed a penalty each. While El Arabi’s shot was blocked by Al Shahania goalkeeper Khalifa al-Dossari in the 37th minute, Kesse Jean cracked his kick against the crossbar before the first session ended.

That Al Duhail had 68 per cent ball possession spoke about their domination. Thus, new coach Nabil Maaloul, who replaced Djamel Belmadi, had something to cheer as they had lost to Al Rayyan on penalties in the season-opening Sheikh Jassim Cup.

South Korean playmaker Nam caught the eye the most for his precise passes and darting runs. He gave the cross for El Arabi’s opening goal before he himself got on to the score sheet with a header off a cross from Edmilson.

El Arabi’s second goal was a solo effort.

In the third match, Al Rayyan posted a clinical 2-0 victory over Al Ahli at the Al Sadd Stadium.

The goals came though Sebastian Soria (23rd minute) and Gonzalo Viera (29th).

Looking to build on last season’s positive performances, Al Rayyan got off to a masterful start to the match as they were able to control proceedings and apply constant pressure on their opponents.

The first action came in the 17th as Rodrigo Tabata forced a fantastic save from Yazan Husein in the opposition goal.

Al Rayyan did not have to wait long to get in front when the prolific Soria got his first goal of the campaign. A floated cross into the box was met by Soria who, rather than heading it goalwards, opted to bring the ball down and strike it past the goalkeeper.

Al Rayyan doubled their advantage when Gonzalo rose highest to plant a header into the ground which bounced up and over the goalkeeper to secure the second goal of the night.

Results

Al Sadd……………………………………………………………………6

(Akram Afif 8, 89; Baghdad Bounedjah 59, pen, 83, 90+2; Abdelrahman Mahamet, og)

Al Kharaitiyath……………………………………………… 0

Al Duhail………………………………………………………………… 3

(Youssef El Arabi 58, 72, Nam Tae-hee 63)

Al Shahania …………………………………………………………0

Al Rayyan……………………………………………………………… 2

(Sebastian Soria 23m Gonzalo Veira 29)

Al Ahli ……………………………………………………………………….0

اكتسح فريق السد، اليوم الأحد، مضيفه الخريطيات بستة أهداف دون رد، في افتتاح مبارياتهما في الدوري القطري لكرة القدم.

أحرز سداسية الضيوف، الجزائري بغداد بونجاح (ثلاثة أهداف) الأول له من ركلة جزاء في الدقائق 59 و83 و90+2، وأكرم حسن عفيف (هدفين) في الدقيقتين 8 و89، ومحمد عبد الرحمن عبد الله لاعب الخريطيات بالخطأ في مرماه في الدقيقة 78 من زمن المباراة.

بهذه النتيجة، حصد السد أول ثلاث نقاط له هذا الموسم، فيما ظل الخريطيات دون رصيد من النقاط.

وتقام في وقت لاحق اليوم مباراتان بنفس الجولة، تجمع الأهلي مع الريان، والشحانية مع الدحيل.

ويعد السد أكثر الفرق تتويجًا ببطولة الدوري بإجمالي 13 لقبًا، بينما حصد الدحيل لقب النسختين الأخيرتين.