Al Gharafa secured their first win of the 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League by defeating Al Markhiya 2-0 in their Week 2 match at the Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday.

Yacine Brahimi’s brace (62nd minute and 83rd minute penalty) ensured The Cheetahs claimed maximum points at the end of the thrilling encounter.

Al Gharafa obtained a single point following a 4-4 draw in their match against Qatar SC in the first week of the competition. Conversely, Al Markhiya suffered a 0-1 defeat against Al Rayyan.

After a closely-contested first half, with most of the opportunities going the way of Al Markhiya, Al Gharafa eventually broke the deadlock past the hour mark when Brahimi fired home a right-footed shot from outside the box into the top right corner from a Ferjani Sassi pinpoint assist.

Sassi almost turned from a provider to a scorer three minutes later, but his right-footed shot from outside the box narrowly missed to the right.

Al Gharafa’s eagerness to secure their first maximum points of the season was evident when Ahmed Al Janehi received a booking for a bad foul on Al Markhiya’s Joao Teixeira within the first five minutes of play.

Al Markhiya came close to opening the scoring in the 19th minute through Talal Ali, but his right-footed shot from outside the box, off a sublime pass by Rochinha, went inches wide off the top right corner. Six minutes later, Moayed Hassan’s swerving cross located Rochinha, but the Portuguese’s header from the centre of the box narrowly missed the target.

As the match progressed, the pendulum seemed to swing in Al Markhiya’s favour as they continued to run riot in their opponent’s 18-yard box. They could have likely gone one up in the 43rd minute had an initial penalty decision awarded in their favour, after Rochinha was brought down by Yousef Hassan in the penalty area, not been overturned by the VAR.

Both teams entered the dugout at the end of the initial half with no goals on either side.

The second half continued where the first ended, with Al Gharafa conceding a free-kick a minute after resumption, but Teixeira’s subsequent right-footed shot from outside the box off a pass from Driss Fettouhi missed to the left.

With Al Markhiya conceding a penalty in the 83rd minute, Brahimi rose up stoutly to the occasion by placing his right-footed shot to the bottom right corner beyond the reach of goalkeeper Mahmoud Gamal to put the game to bed.

Al Markhiya almost came back into the game in the 84th minute with arguably their best chance of the second half, but Yusupha Njie’s header from the centre of the box grazed the woodwork on its way out as Al Gharafa held on to a much-needed win.