With the 2021/2022 Qatar Stars League (QSL) campaign barreling down to a close within the next one and a half months, Harambee Stars forward Michael Olunga, who plies his trade in the league with Al Duhail, will be keen to add yet another accolade to his impressive footballing CV – the Golden Boot.Currently, with only five games left before the end of the regular season, the Kenyan international tops the scoring charts in Qatar as he sits on 19 goals, seven ahead of his closest challenger Andre Ayew who is in second position with 12 goals.Red-hot Olunga bags brace as purple patch continuesWhile it is not a secret that Olunga has been on a terrific form in front of goal since the start of the current season, – with the former Gor Mahia man recording an average of one goal per match in the seventeen games played so far – a little window of opportunity opened up for Olunga through the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations tournament that gave the Al Duhail forward some leeway in advancing his course.But how did the tournament play a part in aiding Olunga’s chase for the Golden Boot in Qatar?When the postponed continental tournament kicked off on 9 January 2022, Olunga, on 13 strikes for the season, was only two goals clear of Baghdad Boudnejah who was in second place. At that time, Ghanaian international Ayew who was also among the chasing pack in third with nine goals.Kenya’s Michael Olunga was the 2021 Asian Champions League Top Scorer with 9 goals.He was also up for Goal of the Tournament.He was the 2020 Japanese J1 League Top Scorer (28 goals), J1 League MVP & was in the Best XI.He was the 2015 Kenyan Premier League Player of the Year pic.twitter.com/Z6QyXivKsR— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) January 7, 2022 But with Algeria and Ghana participating in the tournament, the two closest challengers departed for national team duty whereas Olunga stayed put with his Al Duhail side.In the five matches that took place between the start and the end of the tournament, Olunga managed to score six goals to take his season tally to 19 goals.Michael Olunga: The Treacherous Journey from Lucky Summer to Al DuhailWith Ghana knocked in the group stages, Ayew managed to get back to club duties after missing only one game and has scored three goals to take himself to second on the scoring charts with 12 goals.Boudnejah on the other hand missed two games and has not found the back of the net in the two games he has made appearances in since coming back, consequently dropping from second to fourth after his teammate Akram Afif surpassed him following his impressive six goals in the same period.🔝 @OgadaOlunga is way ahead on top of scorers’ list in the #QNBStarsLeague with 5⃣ weeks remaining in the tournamentWho do you expect to win the Mansour Muftah Award for the Top Scorer? ⚽ pic.twitter.com/xKzl7Wu14R— Qatar Stars League (@QSL_EN) February 6, 2022 Olunga, who has five games left, will be hoping that his fine run that was laced with some stroke of luck will once again lead him to glory in Qatar in his second season at the club.The Kenyan international won the Golden Boot in the 2021 Asian Champions League tournament with nine goals. He was also crowned the top scorer in Japan where he finished the season with 28 goals in his last season with Kashiwa Reysol where he was also named the Most Valuable Player for the 2020 Japanese season.
