Al Gharafa’s Dutch star Wesley Sneijder in action against Umm Salal during the QNB Stars League match played at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium yesterday.
DOHA: Dutch start Wesley Sneijder yesterday scored his first goal for former champions Al Gharafa who fought off a spirited Umm Salal for a 4-2 win at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium.
Playing on home soil, Al Gharafa rarely looked in trouble after goals by Ahmed Alaaeldin (32), Othman Alawi Al Yahiri (45) and Sneijder (61).
However, Umm Salal substitutes Yannick Sagbo (69) and Ibrahima Nadiya (81) scored two goals in the second half to raise visions of a draw but a late strike by Amro Seraj (94) sealed the win for Al Gharafa.
It was only Al Gharafa’s fourth win of the season but their second in succession after Sneijder joined the Leopards some 10 days ago. Umm Salal, despite the fight back, could not add to their five wins in the season.
The two teams kicked-off proceedings on a slow note as neither of the sides could manage to penetrate the defenses at each end. Despite the cagey start, Al Gharafa dominated the proceedings in the first 15 minutes enjoying a massive 62 percent of the ball possession in the round 13 clash.
Close to the half-hour mark, Alaaeldin nearly opened the scoring from close range but the Al Gharafa striker tapped a loopy ball over the Umm Salal crossbar with goalkeeper Baba Malick well beaten. However, a couple of minutes later, Al Gharafa jumped to a 1-0 lead thanks to some quick-thinking by Alaaeldin.
Fresh from scoring a brace in Al Gharafa’s previous clash, Alaaeldin lunged forward to head home a low-ball cross from Alawi Al Yahiri on the right flank in the 32nd minute.
Seconds into injury time, once again it was Alaaeldin-Alawi combination that helped the home team double their lead. Alaaeldin, following a neat dribble near the Umm Salal box, spotted Al Yahiri just a few meters away.
After intercepting the cross, Al Yahiri charged into the box and then quickly slotted the ball past goalkeeper Malick who had stepped out of his territory to stop the move.
In the 63rd minute, Sneijder scored his first goal for his new employers as he drilled one into the net from the edge of the Umm Salal box following a cross from the flank.
Umm Salal reduced the deficit in the 69th minute when Sagbo converted a penalty kick. In the 81st minute, Nadiya found the net from close range after a cross from Mahmoud Kamal. Seraj flicked an easy ball into an empty net in injury time for Al Gharafa’s 4th goal.
Earlier, at Al Sadd Stadium, Al Sadd cruised to an imperious 6-0 victory against Al Sailiya. Goals came from Jugurtha Hamroun (32nd and 37th minutes), Hamed Ismail (64th), Hassan Al Haydous (66th and 80th-min penalty) and Ali Asad (68th).
