Olunga experiences mixed night as Duhail crash out

Harambee Stars captain and Al Duhail striker Michael Olunga scored again! That is not a surprise.

The lanky foward grabbed a ninth goal in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League tournament when his side played to an eliminating 1-1 draw against Al Ahli SC at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium yester night.

The surprise in the game however came in the 65th minute when Olunga missed a penalty that could have sent his team to the last 16 of the tournament had he scored. The 1-1 draw meant Duhail finished in second place in Group C which was not enough to guarantee the team a place even as one of the best losers.

The game started at a frenetic pace. Just one minute into the game, Olunga sent in a fierce strike that the goalkeeper could only watch after being beaten. Luckily for him, the ball just veered agonizingly past the goal post after taking a deflection from Al Ahli’s defender. Both teams, determined to edge in front, fashioned out a couple of chances but none of them had scored by the half time interval.

Five minutes after play resumed in the second half, Khalid Mohammed thought he had given Duhail the opener after the ball beat the keeper only for it to canon off the woodwork. Olunga would not miss in the 61st minute. Duhail got awarded a free kick just outside the box and the 2020 Japanese MVP drove in a low and hard shot that was too hot to handle for the keeper.

Four minutes later, Olunga had the chance to double his side’s advantage after they were awarded a penalty kick. This time though, surprisingly, Olunga missed as his rather powerful strike struck the crossbar and flew outside, a detrimental moment in their hopes of progression.

That miss would come to haunt Duhail as Haitham Asiri restored parity for Ahli in the 73rd minute after being fed by an accurate lofted pass from Driss Fettouhi.

In order to increase chances of progressing to the next stage, both teams needed nothing short of a win. The draw hence meant that both of them suffered elimination.