Al Duhail stayed on course for a hat-trick of domestic titles when they stormed into the Emir’s Cup final by defeating Al Sadd 1-0 in the first semifinal on Friday.

Striker Almoez Ali was the star of the night as he netted the all-important goal in the 68th minute off a cross from the right by Ismail Mohammed.

Al Sadd were better in the first half compared to their showing in the second, but Al Duhail dominated the ball slightly.

Al Sadd striker Hassan Al Haydous was unlucky on two occasions, while Al Duhail’s Mohammed Muntari, back from a loan spell from Al Ahli, too missed the target.

The Wolves were reduced to 10 men before half-time when left-back Abdulkarim Hassan received his marching orders.

The Red Knights created more chances in the second session and Ismail made an instant impact after he came off the bench in place of Ali Afif past the hour mark by providing the assist for the only goal. This was after Almoez had a shot blocked by goalkeeper Saad Al Dossari.

The right upright threw a spanner in Al Duhail’s works as captain Luis Martin once and then South Korean midfielder Nam Tae-Hee, who had an outstanding game, twice hit against it.

The last few minutes saw Al Sadd charge in desperately in search of an equaliser that, however, never came. But Al Duhail held firm as they improved ball possession from 52 per cent at the end of first half to 58 per cent.

With Spanish star Xavi Hernandez watching from the bench, Al Sadd lost to Al Duhail for a fourth time this season when they faced off.

Al Sadd had won the season-opening Sheikh Jassim Cup, but Al Duhail were victorious in both legs of the QNB Stars League and also in the Qatar Cup final.