Lekhwiya were left to rue missed chances  to get back to winning ways after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Al Gharafa at the Thani bin Jassim stadium.
 
Both teams had gone into this match for a change in fortunes after having both endured two consecutive losses, the lack of confidence that stems from coming from back to back defeats was visible on the pitch. Both sides were eager to score an early goa to settle their nerves but they couldn’t be incisive in the final third of the pitch.
 
Lekhwiya enjoyed more possession but couldn’t convert this domination to chances in front of goal. After the first half the defending champions had an impressive 60% of the ball but had just three shots to show for it, one of which was on target, the first half ended 0-0.
 
The first chance in the second half fell to Gharafa’ s star striker Alain Dioko. The Congolese striker who was QSL’s top scorer last season but has yet to find his form yet this campaign  his headed header skimmed the bar and went just  over.
 
Then in the 60^th minute, Gharafa took the lead when skipper Bilal Rajab latched onto the end of a cross from Aden Ali Quilnela and headed it in. The powerful header was well deserved by Gharafa who looked the better side at the start of the second half.
 
But their lead was short lived.  Two minutes later Lekhwiya restored parity in the tie though Slovakian midfielder Vladimir Weiss. His a powerful, long range effort creeped past Gharafa keeper Burhan, much to the relief of Lekhwiya head coach Djamel Belmadi.
 
Lekhwiya quickly found the spring in their step and grew in confidence in the final quarter of the game.  Unfortunately for them, their efforts didn’t trouble the confident Gharafa keeper Burhan.
 
Lekhwiya could have snatched the win the 88^th minute when Bilal Mohamed brought down Weiss inside the box and the referee pointed to the spot. The Slovakian stepped up for his side, but his powerful shot ended up the hitting the post and despite Lekhwiya putting the ball at the back of the net on the rebound, it was deemed to be offside.
 
Lekhwiya have now slipped to sixth in the table and they will need to put in a stronger performance if they want to have any chance of retaining their title. They have an immediate chance to make amends when they welcome current league leaders Al Rayyan in round 8 of the QSL.