Al Gharafa beat Umm Salal 1-0 in Week 4 of the 2021-2022 season QNB Stars League at the Khalifa International Stadium on Monday.

Cheick Diabete (59th minute) scored the only goal of the match.

It was Al Gharafa's third victory and they now have nine points. Umm Salal stayed on three points.

In the 10th minute, Adel Alawi of Umm Salal, after picking up a short cross near the edge of the box, curled in a rather weak shot that swung away from the goalpost to the right of Al Gharafa keeper Yousef Hassan.

Yassin Bakhit of Umm Salal, a minute later, also attempted a similar shot from the edge of the box, but the Jordanian was off-target with his left-footed drive.

In the 38th minute, a 1-2 by Hassan Muayed and Ahmed Al Janehi nearly brought Al Gharafa the opening goal. Muayed’s header from inside the box on a cross from Al Janehi narrowly missed the target.

A couple of minutes later, Muayed got close to the Umm Salal goal despite Atef Zaghbani chasing him, but his shot from close range hit the goalpost.

Just before the hour mark, Al Gharafa grabbed the lead through a long solo run by Diabete. After receiving a short cross from Othman Alawi near the centerline, Diabete ran all the way until the edge of the Umm Salal box, with Sayed Hassan giving the Malian striker a hot chase. From the edge of the box, Diabete unleashed a powerful shot that crashed into the top of the net and Umm Salal keeper Khalifa Ababacar unable to manage a save.

In the 76th minute, Ali Ferydoon of Umm Salal broke free of his marker inside the Al Gharafa box, but his rushed shot hit the outside of the net.