Michael Olunga, the captain of the Harambee Stars, delivered a remarkable performance, scoring twice in a span of eight minutes to secure a dramatic victory for Al Duhail in a Qatar Stars League showdown.
In a thrilling Qatar Stars League match on Thursday night, Michael Olunga’s late brace propelled Al Duhail to a hard-fought 3-2 win over Al Rayyan.
The defending champions, Al Duhail, found themselves trailing by two goals but made a stunning comeback in the eighth week of the 2023-2024 season at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha.
Olunga played the role of the hero, with his first goal equalizing the match in the 80th minute, and then he netted the winner in the 88th minute.
Al Duhail’s initial goal came from Almoez Ali, who converted a penalty in the 59th minute after Roger Guedes had given Al Rayyan a 2-0 lead with goals in the 15th and 41st minutes.
“After all odds. Keep going and believe,” Olunga posted on social media after his impressive two-goal performance. With these goals, Al Duhail now has 16 points, trailing leaders Al Sadd by three points.
Olunga initiated the comeback by finishing off a series of beautiful plays that began in midfield by Al Duhail, slotting a right-footed shot from close range into the bottom right corner, assisted by Sultan Al Brake.
Al Duhail maintained their relentless attack, putting Al Rayyan on the defensive. In the 84th minute, they came close to taking the lead when Ibrahima Bamba’s header narrowly missed to the left.
Four minutes later, Olunga secured his eighth goal of the season, providing the winning goal with a left-footed shot from the center of the box into the bottom left corner during a fast break.
This remarkable performance by the Kenyan international places him third in the Golden Boot race with eight goals, just one behind Akram Afif of Al Sadd and three behind Algerian forward Yacine Brahimi, who plays for Al Gharafa.
The challenges continue for Olunga and his team as they prepare to face Al-Nassr in the return leg in Doha on Tuesday. This match is crucial, and they must secure a victory to avoid an early elimination from the Champions League, following their recent 3-2 loss to a Cristiano Ronaldo-led Al-Nassr in the Asian Champions League.
