Al Gharafa defeated Al Arabi 2-1 in Round 8 of the Ooredoo Cup at the Al Wakrah Stadium yesterday.For Al Gharafa, Sofiane Hanni (37th minute) and Cheick Diabate (47th minute) scored, while Al Arabi’s goal came through Rami Suhail (66th minute).
Al Gharafa moved on to eight points, while Al Arabi stood on nine in Group B.Both teams have com-pleted six rounds so far.It was Al Gharafa’s second win and that should give their Italian coach Andrea Stramaccioni something to cheer even as his Al Arabi counterpart Younes Ali left the field dejected.
The match started off quietly, but soon the com-petition intensified and both teams tried to control the midfield play.With the passage of time, Al Gharafa seemed to control the game and they deservedly surged ahead through Hanni.
Al Gharafa started the second half strongly and they soon doubled the lead through Malian striker Diabate.Al Arabi’s efforts to score bore fruit as Rami found the target.Both sides made attempts at the goal, but could not succeed thereafter.In other Group B match yesterday, Al Khor and Al Sailiya played out a 1-1 draw at the Al Khor Stadium.
Fahad Khalfan Al Balooshi (37th minute) scored for Al Sailiya, while Al Khor equalised through Ahmed Al Mohannadi (45+1 minute).Al Khor and Al Sailiya both now have nine points, with the latter playing six rounds as against the former’s seven matches
