Ten-man Al Gharafa play out battling draw with Qatar SC
Doha, Qatar: Ten-man Al Gharafa put in battling show to hold Qatar SC to a goalless draw in the Qatar Stars League on Friday.
The result meant Gharafa lost a chance to consolidate their fourth place, but the performance will definitely give them heart for the rest of the campaign.
Gharafa are now on 24 points, five above fifth-placed Al Arabi while Qatar SC are on ninth with 16.
Gharafa were down to 10 men as early as the second minute after Mostafa Kadira fouled Sardor Rashidov to be shown a direct red card by Nayef Mohamed, although the decision looked a bit harsh.
Gharafa, coached by Slavisa Jokanovic, defended stoutly and did not allow Qatar SC too much of space.
They also tried to attack whenever they could and Sofiane Hanni was guilty of firing a wayward shot over the bar after good work from Jonathan Kodja and Ahmed Alaaeldin.
Qatar SC came close to opening the scoring in the 45th minute when Abdenasser ElKhayati broke through the right only to rattled the post with a fierce right-footer.
Qatar SC again hit the woodwork 12 minutes into the second period and this time it was Kayke Rodrigues, who failed to hit the target, having got himself into a great position.
At the other end, Gharafa were struggling with their attacks and Yousuf Muftah's long-range effort in the 68th following a freekick was safely negotiated by Jassim Adel.
They had a glorious chance however in the 74th after a fast counter-attack and Hanni somehow failed to direct Alaaeldin's cross into the goal.
Though Qatar SC had most of the possession, Hanni had another chance to win it for Gharafa and this time too he could not make much out of it, hitting his shot straight at Adel.
Earlier, Mohamed Benyettou scored a double as Al Wakrah thrashed Al Shahania 4-1.
Cristian Cebellos and Khalid Muneer also scored for Wakrah while Ramin Rezaeian got the consolation goal for Shahania.
The win took Wakrah to sixth in the table with 19 points while Shahania are at the bottom on 8.
