Al Gharafa players celebrate after scoring against Al Arabi yesterday.
Al Gharafa displayed a spirited performance on their home turf to register a sparkling 3-1 victory over Al Arabi in their Round 10 clash of the QNB Stars League (QSL) yesterday.
Dubbed as Match-of-the-Week, the battle saw the return of seasoned Khalfan Ibrahim from injury who took Al Arabi ahead with a goal in 58th minute but the Cheetahs bounced back strongly, scoring three goals in quick time to secure their second victory in the league.
Al Gharafa now have 10 points, while Al Arabi stayed on a dismal 10th position with only six points.
Ahmed Alaaeldin (61st minute), Amro Seraj (73rd) and captain Luis Jimenez (85th) scored for the Cheetahs in the clash that came alive in the final session.
Al Gharafa went on the offensive from the word go and created a couple of chances in the first 10 minutes. Amro Seraj’s rising shot was tipped over the bar by Al Arabi goalkeeper Muhannad Naim, who blocked Othman Al Yahri’s attempt soon afterwards.
Al Arabi started the second session aggressively and were rewarded before long when Khalfan found the back of the net after Yousuf Hassan, who kept the Al Gharafa goal in place of experienced Qasim Burhan, fumbled with his shot. The home team soon drew parity through a header by Alaaeldin, who replaced Weiss and surged ahead through Amro Seraj, with Othman doing all the hard work for the goal. Jimenez put the matter beyond the visitors’ control by converting a free-kick with a grounder of a shot that caught the rival defenders and goalkeeper napping.
In second match of the day which was also played at Al Gharafa Stadium, gutsy Umm Salal held mighty Al Rayyan to a 1-1 draw to earn one point.
Michael Laudrup’s Al Rayyan were desperate for a victory which would have taken them to top place but fifth-place Umm Salal were outstanding in their defenses in the final stages of the match to hold their aggressive opponents.
Mohammed Al Sayed was the star for Umm Salal who found the leveler with a clinical header in the 61st minute, 13 minutes after Al Rayyan playmaker Sebastian Soria gave them the lead. Al Rayyan who have 25 points following the draw will now have to content with second place behind Al Duhail (25 points) who will meet Al Markhiya tomorrow in their Round 10 clash.
Today, Al Sadd will take on Khor while the other match will be played between Qatar SC and Al Kharaitiyat.
