DOHA: It took Al Kharaitiyat seven games to clinch their first victory at the QNB Stars League (QSL), and they did that in style by stunning last season’s fourth-placed team Al Gharafa 2-0 at Thani bin Jassim Stadium, yesterday.
Qatar’s U-23 player Abdulhadi Amin was star for Al Kharaitiyat in their Round 7 clash, marking a brace by scoring a goal each in both the sessions.
With Al Khor losing to Umm Salal 1-0 in yesterday’s second game, Al Kharaitiyat jump one place up to go 11th in the standings from the bottom.
Al Gharafa missed injured captain Wesley Schneider as Al Kharaitiyat looked a dominating outfit for the first time in the league during the match.
But, Al Gharafa opened up impressively launching a couple of dangerous attacks against Al Kharaitiyat as the game kicked off.
They nearly got off to the perfect start with Yahya Muath just unable to smother it over the line under pressure from Ahmed Sofyan in goal. With the game quite an open affair, it looked like Al Gharafa will be the first to take advantage as Vladimir Weiss pulled the strings in the midfield.
However, a number of spurned chances allowed the visitors to capitalise.
Not long before the break, Abdulhadi latched onto a through ball and his shot from the near post was misread by the goalkeeper who let it squirm underneath his body for the opener in the 37th minute. The confidence offered by the first goal sparked a surge in energy which made him a continual handful for the home defence.
Substitute goalkeeper Abdulaziz Ali was only able to parry a poor back pass into the path of Amin who again finished from a tight angle with great composure with a goal in 59th minute. The two-goal advantage was enough to dominate their opponents for the rest of the match as they held on for a crucial victory and their first points of the season.
Later at the same venue, Mahmoud Kamal Almawas’ goal in the 71st minute proved enough to give Umm Salal full points with a 1-0 victory.
The win took Umm Salal to sixth position with 10 points as Al Gharafa slipped to 7th position. Al Khor, who have 2 points are placed on the bottom.
Meanwhile, Al Sailiya coach Sami Trabelsi said his team will play for victory against Al Arabi today.
“A very important match for both teams mainly because we are on same number of points (12). We will try hard for a win and thus strengthen our position,” he said ahead of the match.
“We will work on our mistakes and I have great confidence in my players. They will bring out their best to collect all three points,” he added.
Trabelsi said his team was confident ahead of the match against Al Arabi.
“The atmosphere within the team has become more better after the meeting of club president Abdullah Al Aida with the players recently. He was keen that young players get opportunities in all matches,” said the coach.
