Meshal the hero as Al Ahli take Al Gharafa on the break

Two first half goals in just two minutes and an assist from Qatari international Meshal Abdulla helped Al Alhi to secure a comprehensive 4-2 win over Al Gharafa in the first match of the 2016/2017 QSL season on Thursday evening.

The match started off at a frantic pace and Al Gharafa opened the scoring just three minutes into the tie. Winger Ali Al Yahri whipped in a fine cross from the right hand side and Hungarian international Kristian Nemeth nodded in from close range.

Just one minute later Al Ahli found their way back into the tie. Congolese striker Firmin Mubele raced past a static Gharafa defense and cut the ball back for an easy tap in for Al Ahli captain Meshal Abdulla. The pair of Mubele and Abdulla again linked up two minutes later when the Congolese international nicked the ball off Gharafa captain Bilal Mohammed on the right hand side. Mubele drilled the ball into the path of Abdulla who fired into the roof of the net.

Seven minutes into the tie, and the game had three goals. The home side began to assert themselves against a stunned Gharafa side. The brigadiers looked strong on the break with Mubele’s pace a constant threat. Eventually Gharafa carved out their second chance of the game, Vladimir Weiss exchanged passes with Kristian Nemeth, and unfortunately the Slovakinan’s shot was easily taken by keeper Abdulla Al Dosari.

With the first half coming to a close, Al Ahli feasibly could have gone into the break with a 3-1 lead. Firmin Mubele’s twisting run and well timed pass found Mojtabi Jabari with his shot was saved by Hassan Ali, the first half ended 2-1 to the home side.

In the second half Gharafa pushed hard for an equalizer, however it was Al Ahli who created the first chance of note. Ahli midfielder found himself with plenty of time in the Gharafa penalty box, his snapshot was comfortably saved.

Gharafa probed hard for an equalizer only to be marshalled by the backline of John Benson and Fred Dabanka. Despite being under pressure for the majority of the second half it was Ahli who all but secured the tie on the 75^th minute.Two goal hero Meshal Abdulla turned provider this time calmly slotting the ball to Mojtabi Jabari who tapped in from close range.

The goal came against the run of play however Gharafa did find a lifeline in stoppage time thanks to a perfectly executed free kick from Vladimir Weiss. Gharafa pushed on to find a last gasp equalizer. However a mistimed back pass and lack of control from Gharafa stopper Hassan Ali allowed Firmin Mubele to race through and slot into an unguarded net to guarantee Al Ahli all three points with a 4-2 win.