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<p>Al Gharafa inflicted a 1-0 defeat on Al Arabi in the highlight fixture of Week 7 of the 2019-20 QNB Stars League at the Al Arabi Stadium on Sunday.</p><p>Sofiane Hanni scored the all-important goal in the 51st minute.</p><p>The ball possession was almost even and the match lived up to expectations, with respective fans cheering the teams on.</p><p>Slavisa Jokanovic-coached Al Gharafa, with their fourth win, now have 14 points, one more than Al Arabi who thus crashed to their first defeat in this season’s QNB Stars League.</p><p>However, Al Arabi coached by Icelander Heimir Hallgrimsson, have the advantage of having played one game less since their Week 5 fixture against Al Sadd, dubbed the Qatar Derby, was deferred due to the latter’s AFC Champions League commitment.</p><p>Al Arabi’s new recruit from Iceland, Birkir Bjarnason, made his debut as his compatriot and fellow midfielder Aron Gunnarsson, nursing an injury, watched from the stands.</p><p>The Al Arabi goal had a close call in the 19th minute as Jassem Jaber, attempting to clear a Muad Hassan cross from the left, headed the ball accidentally into his own post. However, goalkeeper Gregory Gomis collected the rebound from the cross-piece without fail.</p><p>Al Gharafa earned a penalty in the first half, but Ahmed Alaaeldin hit his shot against the horizontal and he could not connect the rebound either.</p><p>Al Arabi created more opportunities in a barren opening session, with their top scorer and Tunisian striker Hamdi Harbaoui being the spearhead. Mohamed Salah El Neel headed a free-kick goalbound, but the ball hit Al Gharafa goalkeeper Qasem Burhan.</p><p>The second half started and it was Al Gharafa who surged ahead. Hanni was on hand to place the ball home after Gomis fumbled in collecting a cross from the left by Othman Al Yahri, much to the dismay of home fans.</p><p>Al Arabi made desperate attempts at the goal in their bid to equalise and Pierre Lassoga came up with a dropping header, but the ball went wide of the mark.</p>