Kenya striker Michael Olunga continued with his goal-scoring exploits as Al Duhail SC secured a 2-2 draw against Esteghlal FC on matchday four of the 2021 AFC Champions League on Saturday.
Just three days after scoring a hat-trick against the same side in Group C, the towering forward was at it again this time around, scoring from the penalty spot in added minutes of the first half before grabbing his second in the 58th-minute to take his tally of goals in the competition to six.
It was Esteghlal who scored first in the 27th minute through Malian forward Cheick Diabate from the penalty spot before Olunga levelled matters from the same position and then put his side ahead, but the Iranian side struck through Mehdi Ghayedi in the 61st minute for the draw.
Esteghlal were the first to threaten as Ghaedi tested the goalkeeper from a narrow-angle within two minutes and Al Duhail responded through Olunga’s powerful header from Edmilson Junior’s out-swinging corner that was saved by goalkeeper Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri.
The Iranian side were then awarded a penalty after their former player Ali Karimi brought down Farshid Esmaeili inside the box, and Malian forward Diabate converted from the spot, putting them in front with his fourth goal of the campaign.
Next Match
As the game was heading for half-time, Al Duhail won a penalty after Esteghlal captain Vorya Ghafouri handled Edmilson’s cross inside his own box and Olunga stepped up and powered in from the spot for his fifth goal of the 2021 competition.
The Kenyan then rose to the occasion for the second goal of the day, as he jumped the highest to head in a cross from Edimilson’s well-taken free-kick, to move top of the goal scorers’ chart, ahead of Omar Al Soma of Al Ahli Saudi FC, with six goals.
Esteghlal responded immediately with the equalizer as Ghafouri dribbled his way past Duhail defenders before laying a beautiful cross to Ghaedi, who powered home his third goal of the campaign for the deserved draw.
In the other group match, Al Ahli scored the winner in the second half to down Al Shorta 2-1 at the same venue. It was Al Ahli who took the lead with only five minutes played through Omar Al Somah.
However, Shorta battled very hard to level matters in the 26th minute through Fahd Youssef in the 26th minute as both teams headed to the half-time break tied at 1-1.
In the second half, Abdulrahman Ghareeb ensured Al Ahli grabbed maximum points from the fixture as he struck what turned out to be the winner in the 79th minute.
The draw means Al Duhail will remain unbeaten from four games and will also remain top of Group C with eight points, while Esteghlal continues to chase with seven points, level with Al Ahli.
