Ali's double lifts Qatar past Singapore at home friendly

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Sunday, October 8th 2017 11:18 AM

DOHA: In-form Almoez Ali struck two goals as hosts Qatar produced a scintillating  display to beat Singapore 3-1 in a friendly played at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.     Coach Felix Sanchez made numerous changes to the playing XI as he set to give most of his players a run in the middle on Thursday night.     Ahmed Alaa converted a penalty in the 81st minute following twin strikes by Ali (39 and 52) under lights at Al Sadd Stadium.     Qatar dominated matters in the first half, attacking almost at will against their Asian rivals.     Singapore, who were using the friendly as part of their preparations for their Asian Cup qualifier against Turkmenistan, netted their only goal through Mohamed bin Ramli in the 53rd minute.     Earlier a fine effort by feared striker Hassal Al Haydos was wasted when his powerful shot from just outside the area missed the net by a whisker.     Qatar consolidated just seven minutes after the interval after a great pass from Ismail Ali found Almoez who headed home from close range.     However, just a minute later, a fine Singapore counterattack saw bin Ramli pull one back for his side.     Singapore came up with some fine moves after that but were beaten back by the Qatari defence.     Qatar completed their dominating display in the 81st minute when Ala Ahmed scored from the spot.