Al Ahli beat Al Gharafa 1-0 in the concluding match in Week 2 of the 2024-2025 season Ooredoo Stars League at the Al Thumama Stadium on Sunday.

The win saw The Brigadiers move into second place in the standings with four points to their credit with the positive result, and a draw, in their two matches so far while Al Gharafa dipped to 11th place with just one point in their kitty. Al Duhail with six points are the leaders, while Al Sadd (in third place), Al Shamal, Umm Salal and Al Rayyan all have three points each.

For Al Ahli, Oumar Sekou got the winner in the 16th minute as he picked on a Julian Draxler pass from just outside the box to dash in and strike successfully.

The Cheetahs, who came into the match riding on a victory over the UAE’s Shabab Ali Ahli (in the Preliminary Stage 2 fixture to qualify for 2024-2025 AFC Champions League Elite), were kept at bay despite making several attempts to break the deadlock.

Al Gharafa’s first chance came in the 21st minute when Saifeldeen Fadlalla provided Florinel Coman with a fine ball inside the ‘D’. The Romanian Coman turned around after gaining grip on the ball but his left-foot strike from a short distance was well saved by Al Ahli goalkeeper Marwan Badreldin.

In the 34th minute, Draxler latched on to a ball to strike but he was clearly offside and the flag was raised.

Al Ahli had another go at the opposite goal in added time of the opening half as Eslam Yassein essayed a header but it was kept away by Al Gharafa goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar.

A minute later, Driss Fettouhi’s corner kick for Al Ahli swung ferociously in, but this time too Ababacar ensured safety.

In the second session, a big chance for Al Gharafa came in the 63rd minute when a Coman free-kick was pushed away by a diving Al Ahli goalkeeper and the ball went to hit a ‘blinded’ Jose San Marten before rolling into the net. The referee, however, ruled that the ball had hit the hand of San Marten, and rightly so.

The Cheetahs attacked more frequently towards the end, but could not succeed in breaking the rival defence.

In the dying moments of 10 minutes of stoppage time, a brilliant Coman free-kick was yet again pushed out by Al Ahli goalkeeper Badreldin and his team went on to savour a hard-fought victory.