Doha: Michael Olunga scored the only goal as Al Duhail ended the 2024-2025 season Ooredoo Stars League with a victory against Al Khor at the Al Khor Stadium on Friday.
Despite the victory, it was a disappointing end to the season for Al Duhail, who ended up as runners-up to champions Al Sadd despite leading the standings for a better part of the season.
Olunga, who came in as a second-half substitute, scored his goal in the 68th minute as Al Duhail finished the season with 50 points, two points behind Al Sadd, while Al Khor ended on 13 points, having managed just three wins throughout the season.
Given the significance of the situation, it was to be expected that Al Duhail would aggressively pursue a decisive victory against the already relegated Al Khor, as they created two significant scoring chances within the first four minutes of the match.
Ismaeel Mohammad had the first chance of the encounter almost immediately after the opening whistle, but his right-footed shot from the centre of the box from a great pass by Almoez Ali went just narrowly wide before Luis Alberto’s shot also went slightly wide three minutes later.
The Red Knights, whose title hopes got a big jolt with their unexpected 0-4 loss to Al Shamal in Week 20, kept relentless pressure on Al Khor’s defence but all to no avail as their opponents stood their ground, not ready to cave in easily for the coach Christophe Galtier’s men, who knew that anything but a win is detrimental to their slim chances of laying hands on the league shield.
Olunga was thrown into the fray on resumption of the second half, replacing Ismael Mohammed, who had not been too effective upfront for Al Duhail in the first half. The substitution proved effective as the Kenyan international eventually gave them the lead in the 68th minute, finishing off a sublime square pass from Ali.
The solitary goal was the decisive factor that distinguished the two teams, as the referee ultimately concluded not only the match but also the season for both sides.
