Al Gharafa beat Qatar Stars League rookies Mesaimeer by a single goal at the Thani Bin Jassim stadium in Round 2. The first half was a story of missed chances for the Cheetahs as both Dioko and Masoud Shojaei came close a number of times but lacked that cutting edge in front of goal.

At the other end Mesaimeer forward Erivelto Silva came closest with a powerful shot on 39 minutes. However the shot was straight at the keeper and the game looked to be goalless at the interval.

But with 4 minutes extra time in the first half, Gharafa mustered one last attack down the right wing, and new signing Yassine Chikhaoui did well to get past his man and send a low cross for Qatari attacking midfielder Moayad Hassan who slotted home with a cool finish (46’).

In the second half Hassan hit the upright with a quick turn and snap shot at goal but unfortunately for Gharafa the ball didn’t bounce kindly into the net(75’).

Again Erivelto Silva came closest for the Torches when a deflected shot looped up and at one point looked to have caught Gharafa keeper Qasem Burhan off-guard but an athletic leap just about saved his blushes.

In all honesty Mesaimeer never posed much of a threat the entire night as they were reduced to shooting from distance.

New signing Alain Dioko was uncharacteristically quiet and failed to show the same level of clinical finishing which made him QSL top scorer for the past two consecutive seasons.

Al Gharafa saw the game out and picked up their first three points of the season.