Al Gharafa defeated Al Wakrah 2-1 in Week 17 of the 2019-20 QNB Stars League at the Al Gharafa Stadium yesterday
Sofiane Hanni (60th-minute penalty) and Jonathan Kodjia (70th minute) scored for Al Gharafa as they moved on to 28 points.
It was a brilliant fightback by Al Gharafa, who rallied from being a goal down as early as the fourth minute as Al Wakrah had seized an early initiative through Iliass Bel Hassani.
It was Al Gharafa’s eighth victory, while Al Wakrah, who had lost 1-2 to Umm Salal in the previous round, crashed to their eighth defeat and stood on 19 points.
Possession was even for both teams throughout the game.
Bel Hassani’s goal, a long-range shot, was literally a bolt from the blue for Al Gharafa, who equalised through a penalty converted by Hanni. The penalty was awarded when Ahmed Alaaeldin was tripped by Al Wakrah defender Ali Karami.
Kodjia headed in Muad Hassan’s cross from the right to give Al Gharafa the lead.
Hanni then had a chance to cement Al Gharafa’s position, but could not find the mark a second time.
At the other end, Mohamed Benyettou had come close towards securing an equaliser for The Blue Wave, but was off the mark.
The three points were a great relief for The Cheetahs, who have not had a good run of late. They had exited from two cup tournaments in consecutive weeks recently, bowing out of Amir Cup in the pre-quarter-final stage after losing to Second Division side Al Markhiya before they suffered the setback in Ooredoo Cup, where they were two-time defending champions.
Al Gharafa were then held 1-1 by Al Ahli in Week 15 of the QNB Stars League and suffered a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Al Sailiya in Week 16.
Al Wakrah and Al Gharafa had played out a 3-3 draw in the first leg of 2019-20 QNB Stars League.
In another match, Umm Salal and Al Shahania played out a 2-2 draw at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Thursday.
January signing Raul Becerra scored Umm Salal’s goals in the second and 52nd minutes.
Kesse Amanguoa (16th minute) and Ramin Rezaein (78th minute) scored for Al Shahania.
Umm Salal and Al Shahania now have 14 and 10 points respectively, and still stare at relegation as the bottom teams. They both need to pull up their socks if they are to move away from the danger zone. Becerra gave Umm Salal an early advantage until Amanguoa helped Al Shahania draw parity as the latter had slightly more of the ball till the end of first half.
The Orange Fortress went ahead for a second time seven minutes into the second half, again through Becerra, and Rezaein’s goal enabled Al Shahania to earn a crucial point. Both teams pressed hard in pursuit of a winning goal, but the scoreline remained the same.
Umm Salal had been faring well in the previous four rounds as well, beating Al Wakrah and Al Khor as well as holding Al Arabi and Al Sadd.
Action from the Al Gharafa vs Al Wakrah match in the QNB Stars League yesterday.
