Al Gharafa beat Al Rayyan 2-0 in Week 9 of the 2021-2022 season QNB Stars League at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Wednesday.

Mahdi Tahrat (43rd minute) and Ahmed Al Janehi (69th minute) scored the goals as Al Gharafa raised their points tally to 15, while Al Rayyan remained on nine points.

Both teams were coming off defeats in the previous round, Al Rayyan losing 1-2 to Al Arabi and Al Gharafa suffering a 0-1 loss to Al Wakrah. So they were keen on getting back to winning ways.

However, it was Al Gharafa who had the last laugh.

Al Rayyan missed their Colombian star James Rodriguez, who got injured during their match against Al Arabi.

The battle was fought strongly from the technical point of view. Al Rayyan were the best in the first half and the most dangerous at the goal, but missed their chances.

Their first opportunity came in the 11th minute, but Abdulaziz Hatem’s shot was weak to beat goalkeeper Yousef Hassan.

At the other end, Amro Seraj’s shot was blocked by Al Rayyan goalkeeper Fahad Younes with difficulty.

Yousef Hassan then brilliantly thwarted Al Rayyan’s Yacine Brahimi.

Al Rayyan paid the price for the missed opportunities and Al Gharafa surged ahead through Mahdi.

Al Rayyan continued to exert pressure at the beginning of second half, but failed to find the target. And Yohan Boli was at the receiving end in the 62nd minute.

Even as Al Rayyan made efforts to equalize, Al Gharafa relied on counter-attacks. One such move saw Cheick Diabate find Al Janehi and the latter was bang on target.