Kodjia stars as Al Gharafa ensure top-four finish with Al Khor draw

Doha, Qatar: Jonathan Kodjia scored two superb goals, including a 90th-minute equaliser, as Al Gharafa ensured a top-four finish in the Qatar Stars League with a 2-2 draw against Al Khor on Friday.

Stavisa Jokanovic-coached Gharafa were all but assured of finishing in the top four even before the match after their closest rivals Al Arabi and Al Sailiya lost in the 20th round, and Kodjia put them on course with a goal late in the first half.

Even though Khor came back strongly with a quickfire brace early in the second half, Ivory Coast striker Kodjia and Gharafa had the final say.

Earlier, Gharafa needed two vital saves from goalkeeper Qasim Burhan to stop them from going down early in the game.

First, he got his body in the way of Ahmed Hammoudan’s shot after the Khor striker broke through the middle following a fine piece of skill from Ibrahim Amada in the midfield. Hammoudan had a second chance from the rebound, but the effort was weak, allowing Yousef Muftah to clear the ball.

Two minutes later, Hammoudan was the provider after a sharp run through the left and Tiago Bezerra’s close-range flick was stopped by Burhan, who once again made good use of his long legs.

But Gharafa were having the bulk of the possession and they had a penalty when Hanni was stopped inside the box by a joint effort from Abdel Aziz and Robert Melki.

Though referee Meshari Al Shammari initially pointed to the spot, he reversed his decision after VAR referral.

But Gharafa got their goal in the 36th minute. Moayad Hassan cut in from right exchanging passes with Hani and delivered a superb ball for Kodjia whose first-time finish was even better.

Despite Gharafa’s possessional advantage, Khor were proving dangerous with their counterattacks and they shocked their rivals with a twin strike in three minutes at the start of the second half. The equaliser in the 48th minute came out of the blue after a superb long ball from Helal Mohammed. The midfielder’s crossfield pass from the right flank, from inside his own half, found Hammoudan and the forward took one touch before placing it into the net with his left foot, through the legs of goalkeeper Baba Djibril.

Khor were awarded a penalty in the 51st minute when Muftah fouled Bezerra who was about to pull the trigger after being found by Hammoudan. Luca Brito fired the spot-kick right through the middle to make it 2-1.

Hammoudan had a chance to increase the lead after indecision from Mahdi Ali, but the Khor forward dragged his shot wide.

And Kodjia drew level for Gharafa in the 90th minute with an acrobatic goal. Substitute Nasser Al Ahrak’s cross looped into the box off the head of Abdularahman Ragab and Kodjia waiting inside the six-yard box met it with a thumping volley.

Gharafa are on 32 points while Khor are 10th on 16.