Al Sadd Beat Al Gharafa For Much-Needed Victory Al Arabi Claim First Win Of Season

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Fawad Hussain | The Peninsula

Doha: Defending champions Al Sadd overcame a fightback from Al Gharafa to seal a much-needed 4-2 victory in the Ooredoo Stars League (OSL) at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium yesterday.

Anthony Hudson's 10-man Al Arabi rallied to edge Younes Ali's Al Rayyan 2-1 to secure their first victory of the season in their sixth game while Al Wakrah also clinched full points beating Al Khor 3-1 with Ricardo Gomes hitting a brace.

At their home turf, Al Sadd, who suffered successive defeats to Umm Salal and Al Duhail, looked to be cruising towards a comfortable victory after strikes from Pedro Miguel, Cristo Gonzelez and Akram Afif in the first half.

But Al Gharafa bounced back with goals from Joselu and Yacine Brahimi to give Al Sadd scare before captain Hassan Al Haydos secured the victory with a last-gasp goal.

Returning to action after a 5-1 defeat against the Red Knights, Al Sadd quickly established a two-goal lead with Miguel tapping in from a close range in fourth minute before Gonzelez hit the top of the net three minutes later.

Al Arabi's Youssef Msakni (left) and Marco Verratti celebrate after the latter scored their second goal.

Afif then extended the lead in 27th minute with a clever low drive from outside the box leaving Al Gharafa reeling. But the Cheetahs fought back with Joselu pulling one back after an assist from Florinel Coman three minutes before half-time.

Brahimi further reduced the lead with a solo effort, clearing three defenders to score in 59th minute to put pressure on Al Sadd.

Afif squandered an opportunity to extend the lead missing the spot kick after he was brought down by Saifeldeen Fadlalla in 80th minute.

The Cheetahs continued to hunt for an equaliser but Al Haydos put the game to bed in ninth minute of stoppage time after being set up by Afif following a counter attack.

Al Sadd's third win of the season put them to fourth in the standings with nine points while Al Gharafa slipped to sixth.

“The team showed high spirit and I am happy that we have claimed three points from the game,” Haydos said after the win.

“I want to thank our fans who turned out in great numbers despite back-to-back defeats. They deserve to be happy.”

At Al Thumama Stadium, Achraf Bencharki fired Al Rayyan ahead in the 16th minute, heading in from close range after latching onto a precise chip from captain Abdelaziz Hatim.

Al Arabi suffered another blow eight minutes later when Ahmed Alaaeldin was sent off for a dangerous tackle against Hazem Shehata inside Al Rayyan's half.

Half-time substitute Youssef Msakani, who scored a late equaliser against Al Ahli in the last match, brought Al Arabi back into the match in 61st minute after goalkeeper Samy Beldi mishandled a set-piece by Rodrigo.

Marco Verratti's low drive in the left corner five minutes before time sealed the comeback victory for Al Arabi.

They jumped one place up to eighth with seven points as Al Rayyan slipped to ninth after the loss in what was Younes Ali's first game as their coach.

Meanwhile, Al Wakrah were 2-0 up in the first half with Gomes (21st minute) and Ayoub Assal (45+2 minutes) scoring for the Blue Wave at Al Janoub Stadium.

Al Wakrah's Ricardo Gomes (centre) is congratulated by teammates.

After Sofiane Hanni pulled one back for Al Khor in the 49th minute, Gomes struck again in the 62nd minute to seal the victory.

The win has put Al Wakrah to second place as they are level with Al Ahli on 11 points but the Brigadiers can reclaim their position as they meet Al Shamal at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium today.

Leaders Al Duhail will also in action this evening, eying their sixth straight victory in game against Al Shahania at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. Umm Salal will take on Qatar SC at Al Janoub Stadium in the other match.

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