Al Duhail came from behind to beat Umm Salal 3-1 in Week 9 of the 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League at the Al Duhail Stadium on Wednesday.

Al Duhail raised their score to 20 points, while Umm Salal stood on seven points.

Al Duhail trailed 0-1 at half-time, but rallied strongly to make the comeback. Umm Salal held sway in the opening half and were put ahead just before the break by their new signing Valentino Yuel, who scored in the 43rd minute.

The equalizer for Al Duhail came late in the second half from Bassam Al Rawi (81st minute) before Michael Olunga scored a brace in the 87th minute (off a penalty) and in 90+5th minute.

Umm Salal had begun strongly and showed some fine defence staving off charges from Al Duhail’s Nam Tae-Hee, whose rasping shot once went over the bar, and Olunga – whose header was kept out by Umm Salal goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar.

The Orange Fortress then went up when Yuel dipped in deep to connect a superb header off a move from a short corner.

At 1-0, Umm Salal looked commanding and tried hard to consolidate in the second half, but Al Duhail were just as keen to make the breakthrough. Their efforts were rewarded as an alert Al Rawi grabbed a chance following a goalmouth melee to score off a fabulous header that beat a defender and the rival goalkeeper (1-1).

Soon, Al Duhail were presented with another opportunity after substitute Lotfi Majder was felled after a boot clash from Umm Salal’s Abdellah Khafifi and the referee called for a penalty. Olunga took the kick slamming into the right corner of the net.

The Kenyan striker returned again for his second goal in the dying minutes, thanks to a smart throw-in from captain Almoez Ali. Moving in from the left, Olunga was given a long throw and ran clear to score a delightful third and final goal for Al Duhail.

While Al Duhail completed a fine win, they could have had more goals as some chances were parried away by Umm Salal’s goalkeeper including a fine effort of Suhaib Gannan.