Al Arabi, Gharafa post QSL victories

Al Arabi defeated Al Shahania 2-1 in Week 4 of the 2019-20 QNB Stars League at the Al Janoub Stadium yesterday.
Mohamed Salah El Neel (first minute and 89th minute) scored for Al Arabi. Al Shahania’s goal was scored by Ramin Rezaeian in the 74th minute through a penalty.
In what was an early shockfor Al Shahania, El Neel quickly finished off a move that literally originated from the kick-off.
The striker latched on to a long pass after Khalifa al-Dossari midjudged the flight of the ball that went over Al Shahania goalkeeper’s head one bounce and applied the finishing touch.
Al Shahania had to be credited for putting the early heartbreak behind them and giving Al Arabi a good fight in the first half, where their best chance came when Kesse Amangoua came up with a long-ranger, which rival goalkeeper Gregory Gomis parried.
Soon after restart, Al Shahania’s Abdelaziz Barrada headed wide.
The match gathered steam then. After Al Arabi’s Hamdi Harbaoui’s weak shot that went wide of the post, Al Shahania’s Rezaeian struck a powerful shot, which Gomis saved.
Then came the equaliser when Rezaeian converted from the penalty spot.
After Khalifa thwarted Al Arabi’s Yousef Abdurizag’s shot, El Neel netted the winner from close range to seal full points for The Dream Team.
Al Arabi have 10 points from four games, having drawn one and won three.
In the second match of the day, Al Gharafa defeated Al Ahli 3-1.
Al Ahli took the lead against the run of play through Abdelrahman Moustafa in the 11th minute, only to see Al Gharafa make a brilliant comeback.
Sofianne Hanni (47th minute) and Ahmed Alaaeldin (76th minute) scored for Al Gharafa, who were also helped by an own goal by Majed Mohammed in the 77th minute.
The red card to Mohamed al-Abbassi in the 73rd minute made matters worse for Al Ahli as they conceded two more goals since then.
Al Gharafa took their points tally to 10 with their third victory, having defeated Al Shahania (3-0) and Qatar SC (3-1). The Cheetahs drew goalless with Al Rayyan in their other game.
Al Gharafa are now equal with Al Arabi on 10 points.
The result ended Al Ahli’s two-match winning run. The Brigadiers had lost 1-3 to Al Ahli in the first round, but then defeated Al Sailiya 3-0 and Al Khor 3-2 to be on six points.
Al Gharafa had more of the exchanges throughout the game, the highlight fixture in Week 4 of the QNB Stars League.
However, Al Ahli took a surprise lead when Abdelrahman Moustafa latched on to a long pass from the middle by Mohammed Diamy and evaded Hector Moreno before slotting the ball home past Al Gharafa goalkeeper Qasim Burhan.
Al Gharafa had Koo Ja-Cheol’s rising shot that hit the crossbar to show for their efforts in the first half.
Hanni helped Al Gharafa draw parity before long after resumption but,  since then, there were a spate of attacks by Al Gharafa, with Adlene Guedioura, Hanni and Alaaeldin leading the charge.
Alaaeldin then found the mark himself and was instrumental in their third goal as Majed hit the former’s goal-bound shot home in a bid to clear the ball.