Al Gharafa's Yacine Brahimi (right) in action during match against Al Sadd. PIC: Rajan Vadakkemuriyil
Doha: Al Gharafa overcame a fightback from 10-man Al Sadd to register a 2-1 win over the defending champions in their QNB Stars League (QSL) match at the Education City Stadium, yesterday.
At the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, a stoppage time penalty strike by Hossein Kanaani handed 10-man Al Ahli a 2-1 victory over 9-man Al Rayyan, who slumped to fourth successive defeat.
Al Sadd yesterday were left without captain Rodrigo Tabata in the 29th minute following a red card to the seasoned player as he stepped on to Saifeldeen Fadlalla’s toes.
Algeria’s Ishak Belfodil gave Al Gharafa a lead in the 38th minute, with his compatriot Yacine Brahimi making 2-0 for the Cheetahs in the 55th minute.
Al Sadd came back into the game with a Guilherme Torres strike in the 72nd minute but Al Gharafa avoided another goal to secure their second win of the season.
Meanwhile, Al Rayyan’s Saud Al Hajiri (52’) and Ali Karami (90+1’) received red cards while Al Ahli’s Nikola Vukcevic (83’) was also sent off after his second yellow card in an incident-filled match.
Yazan Al Naimat (45+1’) took Al Ahli ahead, with Al Rayyan scoring the equaliser through Tameem Mansour in the 82nd minute.
With Al Naimat heading towards the goal, he was held back by Karami, and after consulting the VAR, referee ruled a red card against Karami and signalled a spot kick.
Kanaani made no mistake to fire a winning goal for the Birgadiers on penalty.
“It’s an important victory. We faced some challenges before the match but the players performed well and controlled the match,” Al Ahli coach Nebojsa Jovovic said after the victory.
“This win will surely boost the team’s morale which will help us in the upcoming matches,” he said.
Al Ahli moved to seven points while Al Rayyan remained point-less after yet another defeat.
Al Arabi look to extend perfect run
After recording three straight wins, Al Arabi are hoping for a win against Al Shamal today to climb back to the top of the points table, led by Al Wakrah with 10 points.
The match will kick off at 7:30pm at the Al Thumama Stadium.
Despite his team’s outstanding form, Al Arabi coach Younes Ali is wary of a threat from Al Shamal, who have won two matches from their first three games.
“Al Shamal are performing well and it is going to be strong challenge for us,” Al Arabi coach said ahead of the match.
“There was enough time for us to recover and prepare for the match. We hope to be ready for this game.”
Al Shamal coach Hisham Zahid reposed confidence in his team, saying they have the potential to beat an in-form Al Arabi side.
“Our task against Al Arabi is difficult, but not impossible, and I am fully confident in the ability of our players to play with utmost strength and fighting spirit in order to achieve the desired result,” he said.
Meanwhile, Umm Salal will face Al Sailiya in today’s first game, which will be kick off at 5:20pm at the Al Janoub Stadium.
