The game had a slow start with Al Gharafa having the majority of possession. The Cheetahs came close to scoring with a free kick by Othman al-Yahri, but his shot was saved by Umm Salal’s goalkeeper Basel Zaidan. Umm Salal came close breaking the deadlock in the first half, when the ball broke to Syrian attacker Mahmoud al-Mawas from a clearance. The Orange Fortress striker managed to drive with the ball down the wing and deliver a beautiful low cross to Ismail Mahmoud. However, the Qatari attacker couldn’t connect with the cross and find the back of the net.
The Cheetahs young winger, Amr Abdulfattah enjoyed a good second half with a number of exciting runs and almost got his reward when he had a chance from close range and forced a brilliant save by the goalkeeper.
Al Gharafa should have grabbed three points at the death, when Luis Jimenez saw the ball drop to him in the 18 yard box. However, the former Al Arabi man saw his effort go well wide, missing his chance to register Gharafa’s first win of the season.
