Gelson Dala comes off bench to spark Al Wakrah victory

An inspired cameo from Angola national team forward Gelson Dala led Al Wakrah to a 3-2 victory over Umm-Salal on Friday in the Qatar Stars League.

Dala, who has been struggling with injuries in the early stages of the 2025-26 season, came off the bench for quite an eventful end to the match. The former Sporting CP player put Wakrah ahead 2-1 less than five minutes after coming on and then proceeded to score an own goal to level the match once again after he attempted to clear an Umm-Salal free kick with his head.

But in the end, the swift attacker saved his best for last to give Wakrah their first win after a four match winless streak. Dala received a pass from Nabil Erfan and burst past Burkina Faso national team defender Issoufou Dayo in one motion to set himself up for a calm finish past Umm-Salal goalkeeper Jihad Hadeb in stoppage time.

Also of note, former Al Ahly and Egypt national team midfielder Hamdi Fathi opened the scoring for Wakrah which also features North African stars like Tunisia national team midfielder Aissa Laidouni, Moroccan playmaker Amine Zouhzouh and rising Algerian forward Berkane Redouane.

Dala’s return to full fitness could be a spark for Wakrah to make a charge at the top-3 positions. The club currently sit in fourth place on the QSL table and their next match will be in the QSL Cup, Qatar’s version of a league cup, at home against Al Mesaimeer on October 3.

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