Onyekachi scores brace for Kharaitiyat

KHARAITIYAT rode a brace by Onyekachi Tico Okonkwo to defeat Umm Salal 3-2 in a keenly-contested Qatar Stars League (QSL) match at Qatar Sports Club in Doha on Tuesday.
In another QSL match played on Tuesday at the same venue, Lekhwiya edged tableleader Qatar Sports Club (QSC) by a solitary goal.
This was QSC’s first defeat in five matches.
The lone goal of the match came through a penalty, which was converted by Bakari Kone.
Kharaitiyat first went into a two-goal lead but it was wiped off before scoring the winner.
Players of both the teams played with a lot of intensity to break the deadlock.
Kharaitiyat eventually emerged the winner due to the athleticism of Tico, who had earlier drawn the first blood in the 14th minute.
Kharaitiyat shot into the lead when Mohammad Husain’s hasty clearance rebounded into the Umm Salal box after hitting a rival player.
Both Tico and Alaa Abdul Zahra raced into the box to get hold of it.
Tico was the first to reach it and he made no mistake in shooting it into the net past the hapless goalkeeper.
The pace with which Tico ran for the man caught the Umm Salal goalie off guard too.
Kharaitiyat consolidated the lead in the 39th minute when Abdulla Darwish intercepted a pass from Umm Salal defender Dahi Saad al Naeimi and sent a floater inside the box from the right.
Yiha Kebbi Kebbi first chested down the ball and shot it in a flash into the net.
Stung by two reversals in quick succession, Umm Salal reorganised itself and launched several attacks through coordinated game.
Its efforts were rewarded in the 44th minute when Davi’s cross from the left found the out-stretched foot of Gabriel Francisco and the deflection saw the ball went past the falling goalkeeper.
Umm Salal continued to play in the same vein in the second session and succeeded in gaining parity in the 63rd minute.
Davi on this occasion received a cross at the left edge of the box.
After neatly trapping the ball with his left foot, he beat Daryo Kan before shooting from an acute angle.
Umm Salal grew in confidence and was now pushing for the lead for first time in the match.
But in the process, it left ample space for the Kharaitiyat players to exploit in the 66th minute through Tico.
Kebbi Kebbi headed into the vacant area and Tico outpaced Younes Yaghoob Darwish to reach the ball.
He then drew out the Umm Salal goalie and slotted the ball through the right of the goalkeeper.
Umm Salal squandered a golden opportunity to come back into the match again when a free-kick awarded to it right at edge of box flew past the right post.