Hotshot striker Mohammed Al Sahlawi fired in five goals as as Saudi Arabia returned to winning ways in the 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup joint-qualifiers following their goalless draw against Palestine, with the three-time Asian champions romping to a comfortable 10-0 win over Timor Leste on Tuesday. Al Sahlawi successfully converted two penalties in an impressive virtuoso display at the Dilli Municipal Stadium as the prolific Al Nassr striker took his individual scoring tally in the qualifiers to 12, having also had a goal against Malaysia negated after the Saudi's were awarded a 3-0 walkover victory after their match in Shah Alam was abandoned due to crowd trouble. The dominant Saudis struggled to breakdown a resilient Timorese defence with the home side holding out until the half-hour mark, when Al Sahlawi opened the floodgates from the penalty spot before skipper Osama Hawsawi doubled the lead four minutes later. The celebrations had barely settled on the second goal when Yahia Al Shehri was given ample time and space to make it 3-0 a minute later before Al Shehri's Al Nassr team-mate Al Sahlawi gave the Saudis a four-goal lead going into the interval with his second of the match after being set up by Taiseer Al Jassam's 42nd minute cross. Al Sahlawi completed his hat-trick when he powered home his second spot-kick of the match ten minutes into the second half and after grabbing his fourth and Saudi Arabia's sixth Al Jassam went from provider to scorer when the veteran of over 100 appearances for the Green Falcons made it 7-0 with five minutes left on the clock. But the woes weren't over for the home side, who had been reduced to ten men in the 87th minute when second-half substitute Adelino de Oliveira picked up two bookings in the space of two minutes. Man-of-the-match Al Sahlawi notched his fifth of the game a minute after the Saudis had been handed the extra-man advantage before substitutes Naif Hazazi and Fhad Al Muwallad got their names on the scoresheet, with Al Sahlawi's Al Nassr strike partner Hazazi on target in the 90th minute and Al Ittihad's Al Muwallad taking the tally into double figures two minutes into second-half stoppage time. The Saudis emphatic win took Bert van Marwijk's side to 16 points, six clear of second-placed UAE ahead of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup semi-finalists' meeting with Malaysia later on Tuesday, while Timor Leste remain rooted at the foot of the Group A standings with just two points form their seven matches. The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.
