Al Markhiya defeated Al Shamal 2-0 in the 2023-2024 season Ooredoo Cup Round 2 (Group B) opener at the Grand Hamad Stadium of Al Arabi club on Saturday.

Muayad Hassan (10th minute) and Driss Fettouhi (75th minute) were on the scorers’ sheet for Al Markhiya, who bounced back to winning ways after their opening-round draw with Al Gharafa.

Al Markhiya now have four points, while Al Shamal remained without a point.

Al Shamal had the first real chance of the match in the seventh minute through Mohsin Al Yazidi, who tested goalkeeper Loukay Sherif Ashour from 20 yards with a menacing shot that was bound for the goal if not for the sharp reflexes of the Al Markhiya keeper.

Three minutes later, Muayad Hassan opened the scoring for Al Markhiya after collecting a through pass from Joao Teixeira following a midfield mistake from Al Shamal and the former wasted no time slotting the ball home past the hapless goalkeeper Abdullah Al Rady.

Al Shamal’s Ricardo Gomes could have levelled up for his side in the 19th minute after finding himself unmarked in Al Markhiya’s 18-yard box following a corner kick, but his header went disappointingly wide.

Nofal Bannis almost doubled the lead for Al Markhiya in the 38th minute after waltzing his way past the defenders inside Al Shamal’s last line of defence, but his subsequent shot grazed the upright on its way out after beating goalkeeper Al Rady.

Just before half-time, Al Markhiya got another golden chance to extend their lead after Teixeira outfoxed the defensive line of Al Shamal, but with only the goalkeeper left to beat, he surprisingly shot straight at him to keep the score at 1-0 as their teams headed for the dugout.

Al Markhiya started from where they left in the second half and they could have increased their lead in the 52nd minute had Bannis not missed a sitter after being set up with a sublime through pass by Teixeira.

After several misses, Al Markhiya finally got their second of the day in the 75th minute through Driss Fettouhi, whose seemingly harmless shot following a quick corner kick was fumbled in by goalkeeper Al Rady.

Much as Al Markhiya tried to increase their tally, Al Rady stood like a rock of Gilbratar between the goals as the match ended with a decent win for the away team.