Al Arabi came from a goal down to defeat Al Duhail 3-1 to book the last semifinal berth of the 2023-2024 season Ooredoo Cup at the Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium of Al Ahli club on Thursday.

Helal Mohamad netted a brace (45+4 and 67th minutes) for Al Arabi after Wassim Keddari’s 34th-minute equaliser while Khaled Mohammed scored the opening goal of the last quarterfinal for Al Duhail in the 23rd minute.

Khaled Mohammed opened the scoring for defending champions Al Duhail after taking advantage of a poor clearance by Al Arabi defender Abdulrahman Al Deri, following a cross into the 18-yard box by Jassim Al Mehairi, to fire home a left-footed shot from close range that goalkeeper Amir Hassan could only watch as it sailed into the net.

Undaunted by being a goal down, The Dream Team responded to the challenge by being more resolute in attack and a more compact midfield, staving off Al Duhail’s attempt at further incursion into their territory as much as possible while supplying the forwards with the needed passes to threaten Al Duhail’s defence.

Their attempts finally paid off in the 34th minute when Keddari finished off a move he started after overlapping from midfield before connecting Helal, who supplied a perfect cross to the on-rushing Keddari to head home the equaliser.

With the game seemingly heading into half-time with the spoils evenly shared, Helal turned from an assist provider to a goal scorer in four minutes of added time after knocking in Mohammed Alaaeldin’s cross into the net with the last kick of the half to give Al Arabi the lead.

The second half began for Al Arabi, where it stopped with their attackers running rampage in Al Duhail’s half of the field while their defence remained unpenetrable for The Red Knights to break through.

Helal once again got on the scoresheet for his second of the night and his team’s third after taking advantage of a quickly-taken free-kick that caught the rival defence off guard to give Al Arabi a comfortable two-goal lead.

Al Arabi were in cruise control from thereon as they gradually took their foot off the gas as the game wore on, while ensuring that Al Duhail’s efforts remained unyielding before the referee finally called it a day.