Doha [Qatar], February 27: Al Sadd continued with their winning ways as they made a strong comeback to beat Al Duhail 3-1 while Al Gharafa scored a thrilling 3-2 win over Al Rayyan to move into second in the Doha Bank Stars League on Thursday night.
At the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, defending champions Al Sadd prevailed over Al Duhail for their 10th straight win of the league in round 17 as Rafa Mujica (54th minute) and Giovani Henrique (83rd minute) scored after being gifted an own goal by Yousef Ayman in the 52nd minute.
Edmilson Junior scored Al Duhail's only goal in the 47th minute.
The result consolidated Al Sadd's leadership of the league as they moved to 38 points, while The Red Knights remained on 21 points.
Edmilson Junior had opened the scoring for Al Gharafa, capitalizing on defensive errors from Al Sadd's bulwark to unleash a left-footed shot from the right side of the box but the joy that followed only lasted for five minutes as Al Sadd were gifted the equalizer by Ayman who mistakenly turned the ball into his own net while attempting to clear a diagonal cross from Akram Afif.
The Wolves' second goal followed almost immediately through Mujica, while Giovani strengthened Al Sadd's lead late in the match, benefiting from a well-calculated pass from Afif to score a simple but magnificent goal as the visitors secured the vital three points.
Al Gharafa rally
At the Thani Bin Jassim Stadium, Al Gharafa beat Al Rayyan in a eventful clash. There was frenetic action in added time as Al Rayyan won a penalty and later Al Gharafa's Saifeldeen Fadlalla was flashed with a red card in 90+12 minute.
The result saw The Cheetahs move into second in the standings with a total tally of 34 points while Al Rayyan remained in fourth with 28 points.
Ferjani Sassi (57th minute), Amro Surag (61st minute) and Joselu (84th minute) struck for Al Gharafa while Rodrigo Moreno (4th minute) and Roger Guedes penalty - 90+1 minute) scored for Al Rayyan.
Moreno had picked on an Aleksandar Mitrovic pass before shaping to fire diagonally into the right corner of the net.
Al Gharafa equalized after the break as an Alvaro Djalo Fernandes cross from the right was deflected by a back flip attempt by Roger Guedes. It resulted in the ball moving towards a waiting Sassi and he struck.
Surag soon took Al Gharafa 2-1 up as he overlapped to pick a cross from SanMarten to score from centre in front of the goal.
Surag later provided a fine assist for Al Gharafa to add the third with Joselu striking from just outside the box.
Al Rayyan tried to hit back after gaining a penalty in stoppage time but Al Gharafa held on for a valuable win.
Remaining Fixtures
(All matches kick-off at 9:30pm)
Friday: Umm Salal vs Al Wakrah at Al Khor Stadium; Al Ahli vs Al Shahaniya at Al Thumama Stadium
Saturday: Al Shamal vs Qatar SC at Al Shamal Stadium; Al Arabi vs Al Sailiya at Al Thumama Stadium
Source: Qatar Tribune
