DOHA: Qatar, who are fast putting finishing touches to their preparations for the Gulf Cup, scored a morale-boosting 3-1 win over North Korea in an international friendly at the Lekhwiya Stadium on Thursday. who had shocked Australia last month to score one of their greatest victories, hit the ground hard but failed to convert their supremacy into goals in the first half. Ismail Mahmoud fired wide from close during the opening exchanges and Karim Boudaif missed a sitter shortly afterwards – his lob hitting the post after the North Korean goalkeeper had left his position and charged ahead. A few minutes before the end of the first session, Abdulkarim Hassan shot over the post as the North Koreans managed to keep the Qataris at bay. Qatar, however, were a transformed lot in the second half as they put pressure on their rivals with a quick The match was Qatar’s final friendly game ahead of the Gulf Cup, beginning in Riyadh next Thursday. Qatar will take on Saudi Arabia in their opening match. Eight teams will fight for honours in the biennial competition. The ploy yielded dividends as Ilyas struck from point blank range in the 48th minute after a series of passes and Khoukhi consolidated just two minutes later with a similar strike. Hassan then made amends for missing a few earlier chances with a cracking left foot shot that settled into the top right corner of the net after he took advantage of a misdirected North Korean pass in the 56th minute. Down by three goals in a matter of 11 minutes, the North Koreans tried their best to recover, but could manage only one goal, thanks to a penalty scored by Jong song Hyok following a handball in the 76th minute. The match was Qatar’s final friendly game ahead of the Gulf Cup, beginning in Riyadh next Thursday. Qatar will take on Saudi Arabia in their opening match. Eight teams will fight for honours in the biennial competition.