Al Gharafa players celebrate after Seydou Sano scored the late winner.
Doha, Qatar: Seydou Sano struck deep into stoppage time as Al Gharafa SC kept their AFC Champions League Elite Round of 16 hopes alive with a dramatic 1-0 win over Al Wahda FC yesterday.
The late winner at the Thani Bin Jassim Stadium lifted Al Gharafa to six points with two matches still to play. On the other hand, Al Wahda, already assured of qualification, stayed on 13 points after suffering their first defeat of the campaign.
Al Wahda threatened first in the 12th minute when Caio Canedo header from Ruben Canedo’s cross was stopped by goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar.
The visitors went close again soon after, when Lucas Pimenta met Dusan Tadic’s pass, but Aron Gunnarsson intervened to deny an opener.
Al Gharafa almost broke the deadlock before the interval when Florinel Coman's strong shot hit the crossbar in the 39th minute.
Algerian Yacine Brahimi also came close to playing a role in a goal early in the second half, tapping a pass through to Alvaro Djalo, but the ball flew over the net.
The game's heat was turned on in the 53rd minute, with Al Wahda goalkeeper Mohamed Al Shamsi receiving the marching orders for bringing down Coman.
However, Al Gharafa failed to capitalise on the opportunity as Brahimi struck the bar from the penalty spot.
Al Gharafa were also handed a blow before the hour mark.
Dame Traore received a second yellow card for a reckless challenge on Guga, leaving both sides with 10 men.
Pedro Martins then introduced Joselu as Al Gharafa pushed for an opener. The striker came close in the 77th minute, only to see Sasa Ivkovic clear his effort.
However, their consistent efforts paid off late on.
From a corner, Joselu nodded the ball into Gunnarsson’s path, who set the ball for Sano to fire from close range and send the home crowd into celebration.
Elsewhere, in Tabriz, Iran, however, Qatar's Al Duhail weren't as lucky as Al Gharafa.
At the Yadegar Imam Stadium, hosts Tractor FC came from behind to seal qualification to the Round of 16 with a 2-1 win over the Djamel Belmadi-coached side.
The victory lifted Dragan Skocic’s side to 14 points and confirmed a top-eight finish, while Al Duhail remain under pressure heading into the final round. Al Duhail took a first-half lead through Benjamin Bourigeaud’s penalty against the run of play.
Tractor responded after the break, with Shojae Khalilzadeh leveling the score on 51 minutes.
Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh then struck deep into stoppage time to complete the turnaround and keep Tractor unbeaten in the league stage.
