Al Arabi rallied to beat Al Wakrah 2-1 in a highly-absorbing Expo Stars League match at the Grand Hamad Stadium yesterday.Yousef Msakni (77th minute) and Jassim Jaber (89th minute) scored for The Dream Team after Al Wakrah had moved into the lead in the 24th minute with a goal from Khalid Munir. Al Wakrah were reduced to 10 men in the field in the 78th minute when Hamdi Fathi was shown the red card for a tackle against Marco Verrati. The three points from the win took Al Arabi’s tally to seventh placed, while Al Wakrah’s first loss of the season meant they stay at third.Al Gharafa defeated Umm Salal 2-1 at the Thani Bin Jassim Stadium, with Farid Boulaya (39th minute) and Ferjani Sassi (89th minute) on target. Umm Salal got their only goal through Kenji Gorre in the 57th minute.With the result, Al Gharafa go top of the table replacing Al Sadd, who have played two matches less due to AFC Champions League commitments.After several knocks on Umm Salal’s door, Al Gharafa finally got their opening goal against the run of play in the 39th minute, with Boulaya’s curling right-footed shot from outside the box hitting the top right corner of goal following a misplaced back pass by Oussama Tannane.Gorre restored parity for Umm Salal in the 57th minute with a right-footed shot from outside the box, after an overlapping run, to the bottom right corner of goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar’s net.With the match seemingly heading for a stalemate, Ferjani restored Al Gharafa’s lead in the 88th minute with a well-placed low right-footed shot right from the edge of the box to make it 2-1 for the visiting team.Shortly after the goal, a mild drama ensued, with Umm Salal coach Patrice Cateron being given the marching orders for protesting against the referee’s decision following a yellow card shown to Adel al-Sulaimane for a tackle in injury time. Despite Umm Salal’s attempt at an equaliser, The Cheetahs stood their ground as they ran away with the victory.In the other match of the day, Al Rayyan were held to a frustrating goalless draw by Muaither. Rayyan are fifth in the table, while Muaither second from the bottom.
November 26, 2023 | 12:05 AM