Qatar extend winning streak, beat Hong Kong in Doha

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Thursday, March 24th 2016 10:30 PM

DOHA: Goals from Hassan Al Haydos and Sebastian Soria on Thursday powered Qatar to a convincing 2-0 win against Hong Kong. Al Haydos scored in the 20th minute while Soria fired one home late in the second half as Qatar maintained their unbeaten streak in 2018 FIFA World Cup?2019 Asian Cup qualifying campaign. Qatar, coached by Daniel Carreno, have won seven consecutive matches in the last nine months. Top of Group C in their Asian Zone qualifying phase, Qatar have 21 points from 7 matches. In the 20th minute, Abdelkareem Hassan - the hero of Qatar's energetic U23 campaign two months ago - charged towards the Hong Kong box and smartly chipped a pass to unmarked Al Haydos. The influential striker took first aim and flicked the ball into the net for Qatar's first goal. In a similar run, Hassan surged to the left of the pitch and then curled a neat ball towards Rodrgio Tabata who failed to produce a snapheader near Hong Kong mouthpiece. Qatar produced numerous attacks on the Hong Kong defence but the visitors just about managed to stay afloat by not conceding any more goals in the first half. In the 71st minute, Tabata curled an expertly taken free kick that went agonizingly close to the crossbar. In the 75th minute, Tabata smashed a quick shot into goalpost much to dismay of Qatar fans. Three minutes from time, Ismael Mohammed slipped a neat ball from the right flank to Soria who flicked one home on first attempt. Qatar play China on March 29 in their final Group C game in this qualifying phase.