Substitute Muneer’s stunning strike gives Wakrah win
Gulf Times
Al Wakrah's Abdulghani Muneer (centre) is mobbed by his teammates after he scored a goal against Al Gharafa during the QNB Stars League match on Sunday.
Al Wakrah strengthened their top-four position on Sunday after they edged past Al Gharafa 1-0 in the QNB Stars League at the Al Gharafa Stadium. Substitute Abdulghani Muneer scored a stunner 66th minute, which turned out to be the winner. Al Wakrah remained fourth on 15 points, three more than Al Gharafa. It was Al Wakrah’s fourth victory and Al Gharafa’s fourth defeat. Wakrah, who drew goalless with Qatar SC in the previous round, got back to winning ways, whereas Gharafa, who defeated Al Khor by a 5-0 margin in Week 7, suffered a setback. Both Al Gharafa and Al Wakrah were on 12 points going into the match and the victory has given The Blue Wave an advantage over The Cheetahs. Play was even in the first half, defensively and offensively, and each team had their share of chances, with Mohamed Benyettou and Cheick Diabate leading the attacks of Wakrah and Gharafa respectively. Wakrah seemed more dangerous at the beginning of second half, with Benyettou testing the rival defence. Wakrah surged ahead through Abdulghani Muneer who found the back of the net with a superb long-range shot. Gharafa threw their everything in quest of an equaliser that did not happen. The closing minutes saw Gharafa make desperate attempts at the goal. Ahmed Alaaeldin’s back-heel off a Sofiane Hanni cross from the right hit the left upright and the ball rolled out. Diabate came close the next minute, but could not control the ball in front of the goal. The tall Malian striker then had his shot go wide of the target. The immediate counter-attack saw Al Wakrah’s Omar Ali miss the mark narrowly after being put through by Ismail Mahmoud. Hanni skied the ball towards close, summing up Al Gharafa’s bad luck. In another match, Al Sailiya and Umm Salal played out a 0-0 draw. Sailiya and Umm Salal moved on to five and six points respectively. Going into the match, both teams were in a desperate situation. In fact, Umm Salal, Al Ahli and Al Khor were the only teams yet to record a victory this season and, after the eighth round, they remained so. Al Ahli had lost 1-4 to reigning champions Al Sadd and Al Khor lost 0-4 to promoted side Al Shamal in Saturday’s action. Umm Salal played under former Qatar international midfielder Wesam Rizik for the first time after he replaced Brazilian Sergio Farias following the team’s dismal run. The match was evenly fought in terms of ball possession. Play was confined mostly to the middle of the field, so there were not many attempts at the goal, at either end until the 38th minute, when Al Sailiya counter-attacked, with Ramin Rezaien in the thick of action. However, the Iranian’s shot was saved by goalkeeper Khalifa Abubakr. Soon afterwards, Al Sailiya’s Valentin Adama unleashed a shot that went wide of the Umm Salal post. Things did not change much in the second half. Umm Salal got their first chance in the 59th minute, but Aymen Hussein was thwarted by goalkeeper Claude Amine. Al Sailiya made another attempt in the 72nd minute through the right, only to see Mohamed Mudathir hit his shot over the crossbar. That was followed by another move by Aymen. However, a goal did not come and the game ended in a draw.