Wakrah were looking for victory to ensure survival in the league and hoping that Al Shahania would be unable to better their result on the night.

Wakrah calmed their nerves with an early goal.  Long ball tactics worked for the Waves, with Argentinian striker Sebastian Suarez on the spot with a crucial header for his side, which looped over Gharafa keeper Qasem Burhan.

Wakrah looked commanding in the second half and could have doubled their lead in the 21^st minute, Sebastian Saez broke Gharafa’s defensive line, threatened but his shot didn’t hit the target.

The Waves looked dangerous on the break, with much of their good work coming though the pacey Moroccan playmaker Mohassine Moutaouli.

Gharafa are under new management as interim coach Habib Sadiq took over after the dismissal of Brazilian tactician Marcos Paqueta.   However the Cheetahs looked disjointed in the first half with the Waves looking the sharper side, especially on the counter attack.

In the second half Gharafa looked dangerous and rightly equalized on the 47^th minute through Claudio Keseru. Santos fought strongly to win and angle his towards the Romanian who powerfully finished past the Wakrah keeper as he sent him the wrong way.

The pressure was on Wakrah, who looked shell shocked for a time, however against the run of play Al Wakrah took the lead on the 61^st minute from defender Johar. The well worked free kick was calmly headed in by the defender although Gharafa should be aggrieved with the goal, as four Wakrah players where clearly offside when the set piece was played.

The Cheetahs however didn’t look down beat and should have equalized through Costa Rican winger Cristian Bolanos. But Wakrah held on, to beat the drop with a nervy 2-1 victory ensuring that the Waves will be in next season’s Qatar Stars League.

The Waves finished in 12^th whilst Gharafa finished in 7^th, one position better than last season.