Al Gharafa edged Al Arabi 5-4 in another action-packed Expo Stars League encounter at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Friday.
Goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar turned out to be the hero for Gharafa after making a penalty save in 90+4th minute, securing a sixth win of the season for his team. The scorers for Gharafa were Yacine Brahimi (fourth-minute penalty), Ferjani Sassi (15th minute), Ahmed al-Janehi (28th minute), Yohan Boli (53rd minute) and Farid Boulaya (89th minute). Omar al-Somah (10th, 34th and 83rd minutes) and Yousef Msakni (44th-minute penalty) were on target for Al Arabi.
The win helped Al Gharafa move on to 19 points from eight games, the same as leaders Al Sadd but behind on goal difference, while Al Arabi are eighth with six points.
Gharafa seized early chance on a clearance error by Arabi goalkeeper Jassim al-Hail. As Brahimi made charge inside the box, al-Hail quickly kicked the ball along the ground which Farid Boulaya tried to reach but drew a foul after being tackled from behind by Arabi’s Ahmed Fathi and thereby conceding a penalty. Brahimi scored from the spot to draw first blood.
The Dream Team hit back within minutes as al-Somah scored following a top-of-the-box tussle, firing in off a volley after taking ball on his chest. The Cheetahs provided their own version of an answer as an unmarked Ferjani essayed a super strike from 10 yards outside the box straight into the high centre of the goal to take the lead.
Gharafa added a third 13 minutes later as al-Hail again made the mistake of making a lazy clearance and a lurking Ahmed al-Janehi jumped ahead of Marco Verratti score even as the goalkeeper threw his hands in disgust.
The riveting action just did not stop as Arabi fought back again and Msakni picked on a through ball inside the danger area to dribble past Gharafa goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar, who had rushed out, and lob a cross to an unmarked al-Somah on the left to head successfully.
Arabi levelled again ahead of half-time as al-Somah provided a golden pass from top of the box and Msakni broke through, but was felled by Gharafa’s Abdalla Yousef resulting in a penalty. Msakni scored and drew parity at 3-3.
After the break, Al Gharafa went ahead again as Yohan Boli collected an al-Janehi cross inside the penalty area and scored to the left of the goalkeeper. Just when Al Gharafa appeared to be holding sway and keeping the rivals at bay, The Dream Team produced an electric set piece moment which brought the crowd to their feet again.
Al-Somah scored off a free-kick which raced past the wall beating the man on the right and curled into the goal. But the shot-for-shot affair meant that Gharafa would attack again and they did provide an answer with an all-the-more fabulous free-kick from Boulaya and from almost 40 yards. The kick sailed over all and dipped into the top left corner of the goal, taking with it goalkeeper al-Hail into the net.
The added time then had to offer an anti-climax of the night for Al Arabi after VAR confirmed a handball by Ferjani resulting in a penalty. Msakni stepped up, but his kick was stopped in the bottom right corner by Ababacar. Two minutes later, Msakni hit the right post to sum up the see-saw contest and the lack of luck for Arabi.
Meanwhile, Wakrah moved to third spot after 1-0 win over Qatar SC at the Al Janoub Stadium. Egyptian midfielder Hamdi Fathi struck the winner for Al Wakrah in the 37th minute.
Qatar SC, however, could well have forced a drawn result, but a Badr Benoun penalty strike in the 89th minute hit the crossbar and fell out allowing The Blue Wave to escape with the narrow-margin victory.
In the other match of the day, Al Shamal defeated Al Ahli 2-1 at the Al Thumama Stadium for their first win of the season. Ricardo Gomes scored the winner in the 59th minute for Shamal after Mahdi Salem had opened the scoring in the 37th minute. Al Ahli’s goal came from Naim Sliti in 45+3 minute. With their first victory, Shamal are in ninth spot, while Al Ahli are one place below.