Sadd’s win over Al Khor cuts Duhail’s lead to one point

Akran Afif scored a brace and provided an assist as Al Sadd rallied from being two goals down to beat Al Khor 5-2 in Qatar Stars League match played at the Al Khor Stadium on Friday.While Al Khor struck through Ruben Semedo (3rd minute) and Sofiane Hanni (8th minute), Al Sadd hit back with goals from Ahmed Suhail (10th minute), Romain Saiss (27th minute), Akram Afif (48th and 54th minutes) and Cristo Gonzalez (68th minute). The hard-fought win saw Al Sadd move within a point of leaders Al Duhail (on 22 points) while Al Khor, who still remain winless in the league, stay in last and 12th place with four points.Al Khor’s position notwithstanding they came out with a strong show against the defending champions and kept challenging them till the very end. Al Sadd, woken up by the two-goals alarm, were admirably guided by their mercurial winger and captain Akram Afif, who not only initiated most of the potential moves but was also instrumental in providing one clear assist besides scoring a brace.Al Khor had caught Al Sadd napping when Semedo converted a corner kick with a clear strike and five minutes later when Hanni moved into the striking zone, following an Al Sadd long kick which couldn’t be checked by the defending line, to double their lead. A rattled but determined Al Sadd hit back within minutes as Suhail made a superb header from the left after a cross from Gonzalez (1-2).Al Sadd fetched the equaliser in fine fashion from a set piece as Afif chose to move the ball to his left to Moustafa Tarek who moved it to Yusuf Abdurisag to make a back flip before Saiss ran in to put the ball into the net from near the right post (2-2).Al Sadd struck again in the 38th minute after an Afif strike was deflected by the goalkeeper but he regained possession to feed Mohamed Camara who battled past Semedo to provide an assist for Giovani Henrique to score, but a VAR check saw referee rule a foul against Camara and the goal being disallowed.Both teams went into the breather at 2-2. Al Sadd returned and gained the lead soon with Afif grabbing a long ball to go on and strike even while being chased by Abdulrahman Juma (3-2).Six minutes later Afif was back in action making a sprint to forcefully score past a hapless goalkeeper (4-2). At the hour mark, and Al Sadd attempt saw Yusuf Abdurisag hit the left post.Al Sadd kept their charge on and soon Afif sent in a beautiful through pass from Gonzalez to do the rest (5-2). Creditably, Al Khor kept attacking and also came close to being successful but Al Sadd goalkeeper Yousef Abdullah Balideh defied three Yohan Boli attempts including two kicks in front of the goal.Gharafa climb to third place after win over WakrahLater, Al Gharafa came back a goal down to beat Al Wakrah 3-1 at the Thani Bin Jassim Stadium. While Al Wakrah took the lead through a penalty kick in the 20th minute scored by Ricardo Gomes, Al Gharafa hit back with goals from Ahmed Al Ganehi (45+2 minute), Joselu (60th minute) and an Own Goal from Lucas Mendes (75th minute).The win pitchforked Al Gharafa into the top the top three of the rankings with a tally of 18 points, ahead of Al Ahli in 4th on goal difference, whereas Al Wakrah remain in 5th spot with 14 points.Despite gaining an early advantage, Al Wakrah also suffered from many of their own mistakes as Al Gharafa gained ground to make amends. Al Wakrah won the penalty after Ayoub Assal was brought down inside the box by Seydou Sano and Gomes stepped up to score.Both teams then had equal share of exchanges until the added time of the opening half when Ferjani Sassi made a fine lob from the midfield for an unmarked Ganehi to run in and beat a challenging Mendes to get the equalizer.Al Gharafa then moved into the lead with their star player Yacine Brahimi dribbling his way past Al Wakrah’s Yousef Tarek al-Khatib to provide the ball for Joselu to score.Minutes later, Al Wakrah’s Hamdy Fathy, when being face to face with Al Gharafa goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar, made the mistake of playing the ball to his left and thereby missing out on a striking chance.Al Gharafa hit back as Brahimi forced his way into the danger area. He was tackled by Alexander Scholz but despite falling down, Brahimi was back up and went on to beat a charging goalkeeper Mohammed Albakri. The Algerian’s kick found Mendes in the way, who in the scramble deflected it into his own goal.Three minutes later, Al Wakrah’s Jacinto Dala made a diagonal strike but the ball hit the bottom of the left post much to their dismay.Meanwhile, a stoppage-time strike saw from Younes Belhanda saw Al Shamal sink Al Rayyan 2-1 at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. The closely-contested match saw Al Rayyan move into the lead in added time of the opening half through Roger Guedes (45+2’) but Al Shamal kept challenging and were rewarded with two late goals as Mohammed Khaled al-Nuami (83rd minute), and Younes Belhanda (90+7 minute) struck to shock their rivals.The thrilling win also moved Al Shamal into sixth place in the rankings with 13 points while Al Rayyan remain in eighth spot with 10 points.