Al Arabi defeated Al Shamal 1-0 in Round 1, Group B of the 2022-2023 season Ooredoo Cup at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Tuesday.

Rami Suhail scored late in the first half (45+2) and Al Arabi held on well to the lead till the very end of the evenly-fought match.

The successful strike was a result of Abdulla Nasser Al Muraisi’s superb assist as he broke past two players and beat the challenge of another player to produce the cross from the left. Rami was positioned right in front of the goal and beat the goalkeeper with a cool deflect.

Group B also includes Al Duhail, Al Markhiya, Al Gharafa and Al Rayyan.

Both sides battled hard and Al Shamal made efforts to get the equalizer, but lacked at the finish.

In what could have been a good chance, Anas Abdulsalam Abweny failed to make a head connect while diving in front of the goal midway through the second half.

Later in the 72nd minute, Al Arabi’s Abdullah Essa Al Sulaiti had a clear shot, but his strike went just off the mark to the right of the goal post.

The final moments of the match saw more jostling in front of the goals of either team, and for Al Shamal their star Yacine Bammou on one occasion made a good strike, but Al Arabi goalkeeper Jassim Al Hail made a valuable save.

This was a second time recently that Al Arabi prevailed over Al Shamal after their QNB Stars League Week 4 match, where Yousef Msakni had scored off a spot kick for a 1-0 win.