Al Gharafa’s hopes of finishing fourth in the QNB Stars League suffered a huge blow when they crashed to a 3-1 defeat against Al Arabi in the penultimate round yesterday.
Diego Jardel (45+9) and Kwame Karikari (73rd and 81st minutes) scored the goals for Al Arabi, who thus extended their incredible winning streak to four matches and took their points tally to 24.
Al Gharafa’s goal was scored by Brazilian defender Rubert Jose in the 42nd minute.
The defeat dealt a serious blow to the hopes of Al Gharafa, who stayed on 32 points, the same as Umm Salal who held Al Rayyan 2-2 in the day’s another fixture, to finish among the top four and thus qualify for the Qatar Cup.
It was Al Gharafa who created more chances from the beginning and they duly took the lead through Rubert.
However, Brazilian midfielder Diego Jardel, who played an instrumental role in their 3-1 win over Al Rayyan in Week 20, was at it again when he converted from the spot in the ninth minute of first-half stoppage time.
The penalty was awarded after Al Gharafa goalkeeper Qassim Burhan made a lunging foul on Mudhir Abdurab. The play was stopped for some time and Burhan was shown a red card.
Meanwhile, substitute Salem Khalifa produced a stunning second-half strike to power Al Khor to a 1-0 win over Al Sadd.
After both sides ended the first half without a goal, Al Khor managed a late strike when Salem, after beating two rival defenders with his amazing speed, unleashed a powerful shot that beat the goalkeeper and smashed into the net at high speed.
It was a memorable outing for Salem, who had replaced Mowafak Awad in the 58th minute of the match. The goal was scored with a shot from outside the Al Sadd box that was heavily guarded.
Al Markhiya have been relegated as any hopes of survival took a heavy pounding when they lost 2-4 to new Al Duhail.
Al Markhiya scored in the 40th and 71st minutes through Mohamed El Neel and Eric Pereira.
Al Duhail’s goals were scored by Youssef Msakni (27th and 85th minutes) and Yousef El Arabi (75th and 80th minutes).
It did not take long for the relegation-threatened club to fall behind via a mistake of their own making just before the half-hour mark. Msakni latched onto a through ball before being clumsily brought down by the goalkeeper for a penalty. Msakni stepped up and dispatched with ease to help The Red Knights take an early lead.
With the half drawing to a close, Al Markhiya got back on level terms, thanks to some incisive attacking play from Saleh al-Yazidi. His slide-rule pass through the centre was the perfect invitation for El Neel to emphatically level the scores. Midway through the second half, and against the run of play, Al Markhiya took the lead as Pereirra ran towards the opposition box unchallenged before firing an unstoppable rocket into the top corner. So often the architects of their own downfall, the home side let the lead slip minutes later as El Arabi was able to power through the defence and fire past the goalkeeper.
Minutes later, the champions retook the lead when El Arabi grabbed the rebound following Hazem’s parried shot.