Solitary Dioko strike enough for Gharafa

Al Ahli 0-1 Al Gharafa

Al Gharafa maintained their unbeaten streak under new coach Pedro Caixina with a tight 1-0 victory over Al Ahli at Al Arabi Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Former Ahli striker Alain Dioko scored in the first half to pile the misery on his former side. Gharafa started the match on the front foot and quickly showed their dominance.

Attacker Adel Ahmed’s powerful run and accurate cross found the feet of Dioko who bundled the ball in from close range to score his fifth goal of the season. The first half lacked any other key chances of note and the Cheetahs went in 1-0 up at the break.

In the second half Ahli came out with renewed vigour and replaced striker Ndombe Mubele with new signing Danilo Carando. It didn’t take long for the Argentine to carve out his first chance for the Brigadeers, with a swivel and shot bringing a good save from Gharafa stopper Burhan Quassim.

Gharafa were resolute in the second half, shutting out Ahli time again. Dioko could have doubled his tally, but the Congolese international snatched at an effort in the 84^th minute.

Ahli did carve out one final chance in stoppage time, but the lively Carando was unable to latch on to a Mershal Abdulla cross. Caixina will have been happy with his side’s performance, particularly defensively. Ahli meanwhile will be looking for signs of improvement when they face Al Sadd in round 17. 

Madson helps Al Khor shock El Jaish

Al Khor 1-0 El Jaish

Al Khor followed up their impressive December form with a 1-0 victory over high-flying El Jaish.

Brazilian striker Madson scored the only goal of the game in the 40^th minute at Al Khor Stadium. He latched on to a ball over the top, shrugged off the attention of Ali Sanad and calmly slotted the ball home.

The goal came against the run of play at the end of a quiet first half. The Soldiers’ only chance of note came on the half-hour mark when Sardor Rashidov hit a left-footed effort over the bar.

Jaish were more lively in the second half but Khor went close to doubling their lead in the 55^th minute. Madson broke from midfield and showed great strength before picking out Julio Cesar with a pinpoint cross. Unfortunately for Khor, Cesar’s volley failed to hit the target.

Jaish striker Abderrazak Hamdallah wasted a trio of chances midway through the second half. His first effort crashed against the post; he had a shot from 16 yards blocked, and then smashed a chance wide from the edge of the area.

In the end Khor held on to make it four games unbeaten and jump to ninth in the table ahead of Thursday’s matches. Jaish, meanwhile, look set to lose more ground on runaway leaders Al Rayyan.

Al Harazi’s double sees off Mesaimeer
Al Sailiya 3-1 Mesaimeer

Al Sailiya closed the gap on the top six after a 3-1 victory over bottom side Mesaimeer.
It was a welcome return to form for the Peregrines, who were too strong for their lowly opponents.

Abdurahman Al Harazi put Sailiya in front in the 13^th minute at Al Arabi Stadium. Abdulgadir Ilyas Bakur robbed the ball from Hazem Khaled deep in Mesaimeer’s half, played a neat one-two, and set up Al Harazi for the finish after the number nine found himself in plenty of space in the penalty area.

Al Harazi doubled his and Sailiya’s tally in the 48^th minute. Bakur was the creator yet again with a strong run down the right. The El Jaish loan man found Al Harazi in space and the forward slotted home without being pressured by the Mesaimeer defence.

The game appeared to be as good as over but Mesaimeer pulled a goal back in the 60^th minute through Wajdi Bouazzi. Sailiya goalkeeper Gregory Gomis rushed off his line to clear but his defence got in a tangle and Bouazzi passed the ball into an empty net from well outside the area.

Despite a few nervous moments, Sailiya made the game safe in the 82^nd minute when Bakur grabbed a deserved goal. He lashed the ball home after Mostafa Abdulhafidh’s header had been cleared off the line.