(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Al Gharafa survived a mighty injury time scare before qualifying for the Asian Champions League group stage with a 2-1 win over Uzbek giants Pakhtakor in their West Zone playoff at the Thani bin Jassim Stadium here yesterday.
New signing Wesley Sneijder put the Cheetahs ahead with a successful 21st minute penalty and Portuguese Diogo Amado, who joined the team last year, added one more seven minutes later to ensure their passage to the tournament proper for the first time since 2012.
Jasurbek Khakimov pulled one back for the Uzbeks three minutes into the four-minute added time but with barely seconds before the final whistle, Marko Simic fired the ball into Al Gharafa goalkeeper Qassem Burhan's body to waste a golden chance to send the match into extra time, soothing the nerves in the Al Gharafa camp.
Al Gharafa will now join UAE's Al Jazira, Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli and Iran's Tractorsasi in Group A of the AFC Champions League which will kick off on February 12, ensuring the presence of four teams from Qatar in the lucrative continental tournament, the others being Al Duhail, Al Sadd and Al Rayyan.
Al Gharafa, who lie sixth in the QNB Stars League, had signed Dutch midfielder Sneijder in early January along with Iranian Mehdi Taremi in a bid to boost their AFC qualification chances and also improve their standing on the domestic stage.
And the vastly experienced duo were indeed the mainstays for their team yesterday with their brilliant marshalling of the midfield, occasionally also troubling the Tashkent-based Pakhtakor's defence by venturing forward.
The home team dominated proceedings right from the word go but the battle-hardened Pakhtakor defence managed to keep their wits about them to ward off all danger.
But all that changed when Marko Simic recklessly fouled Taremi in the 20th minute and the referee Mohannad Saray of Iraq pointed to the spot.
Sneijder, who stepped up to take the shot, coolly slotted the ball home, sending Pakhtakor goalkeeper Aleksandr Lobanov the wrong way for only the second goal for his new team, having earlier scored against Umm Salal in the QNB Stars League a couple of weeks ago.
The Uzbeks were rattled by the reverse but continued to commit defensive errors, and one of those proved costly when they failed to anticipate a Taremi move, the Iranian ace releasing Diogo, who deposited the ball into the bottom left corner of the net past Lobanov.
The second half was hotly contested with tempers occasionally flaring and both defences living dangerously.
With chances being spurned at either end, Al Gharafa needed only to hold their end, but were a bundle of nerves towards the final moments, especially when four minutes were added to the game.
And sure enough, their defences fell with one minute to go when Khakimov was left unmarked close to the goal, and the striker didn't make any mistake from point blank range.
Al Gharafa's jitters were evident and they almost conceded a second goal, but goalkeeper Burhan foiled Simic's effort from barely five yards by blocking the shot with his body.
Simic, who had conceded the penalty early in the game, slumped to the ground in despair, having wasted the chance to make amends and give his team the lifeline of extra time.
In sharp contrast, the Al Gharafa camp erupted in joy.
MENAFN3001201800670000ID1096408969
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.