Umm Salal advanced to the semifinals of 2023-2024 season Ooredoo Cup after defeating Al Shamal 2-0 at the Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium of Al Ahli club on Wednesday.

Andy Delort scored the goals in the eighth and 13th minutes.

Group A winners Umm Salal did not hide their intention of continuing their excellent run in the tournament as they went into attack mode from the blast of the whistle, pegging Al Shamal into their own half of the field for the majority of the first six minutes.

Their efforts subsequently paid off as Delort nodded home Ilyes Brimil’s rebound shot in the eighth minute, seconds after Ilyas had his right-footed shot from the right side of the box off a Victor Lekhal assist saved by Al Shamal goalkeeper Babacar Seck to give Umm Salal the desired start.

The Algerian international was on target again five minutes later, this time also with a fine header from the left side of the box to the top left corner following a precise cross from Brimil to record his brace of the night.

With two goals down, Al Shamal attempted to come back into the game as fast as possible and Salmin Atiq was almost cutting the deficit in the 15th minute, but his right-footed shot from outside the box went just a bit too high.

Jeison Murillo’s 23rd-minute header from the centre of the box, from a cross by Jassim Ali Al Hashemi, also went agonizingly wide to the left.

With a couple of chances falling to both sides that were not converted, the first half came to a close, with Umm Salal taking their two-goal lead into the dugout.

Al Shamal made a triple substitution at half-time to shore up their attack, with Mohammed Al Jabri making way for Omid Ebrahimi, Omar Mohammed coming in for Hamad Mansour and Jassim Ali Al Hashemi going out for Mouafak Awad.

Despite the substitutions, it was Umm Salal, however, who continued to dominate proceedings with their co-ordinated attack and watertight defence, while Al Shamal were reduced to defending for most parts of the second half.

The scoreline however remained unchanged as the referee brought the game to a close, with Delort making the difference as Umm Salal booked their last-four ticket.