Al Sadd beat Al Wakrah 4-2 in Week 18 of the 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League at the Al Wakrah Stadium on Saturday.
Al Sadd led 1-0 at half-time.
While Ayoub El Kaabi (27th and 88th minutes) and Akram Afif (48th and 66th minutes) scored for the winners, Trent Sainsbury (57th minute) and Jacinto Dala (87th minute) scored for Al Wakrah.
It was The Wolves 11th win of the league championship and took their tally to 35 points from 18 matches, while Al Wakrah remained on 27 points from 18 games.
Al Wakrah presented a strong contest to the defending champions, who proved their mettle.
Al Sadd began confidently and, in the 18th minute, their captain Hassan Al Haydous made a dangerous kick, but it missed the target to the right.
After some time, an unmarked El Kaabi moved down the left to beat a defender and the goalkeeper with a forceful kick for the opening goal.
Al Sadd made a telling start to the second half as well, with Afif initiating a move and making the most of an Ali Asad pass to score from the left.
Al Wakrah hit back through a corner kick when a header was saved by Al Sadd goalkeeper Saad Al Dossari, but the ball rolled out and an alert Sainsbury lunged to kick in their first goal.
Minutes later, the mercurial Afif was back in action for The Wolves again as he sprinted in to pick on an El Kaabi pass to score brilliantly with a right-footer into the right side of the goal (3-1).
Al Wakrahs repeated attempts to make amends bore fruit when their Angolan star Dala broke in to beat Al Sadds Tarek Salman and cross over to score, beating a diving goalkeeper. It was Dalas 13th goal of the season.
Al Wakrahs joy was again short lived as, a minute later, Al Duhail made a counter and Afif held back three defenders to provide a golden pass to El Kaabi who made a left-foot strike that hit a defender to deflect into the goal.
Source: Qatar News Agency