Al Arabi defeated Qatar SC 2-1 in Week 21 of the QNB Stars League at the Qatar SC Stadium on Thursday.

Al Arabi’s goals came from Gasser Zakaria in the 11th and Fahad Khalfan in the 84th minutes. Qatar SC’s goal was scored by Ali Al Mohannadi in the 48th minute.

The game started in a furious fashion as both sides went close with early chances. The first through Hashim Abdulatif for Al Arabi when his shot from a tight angle was well-parried by Jassim Al Hail.

Moments later, Samuel Eto’o saw his shot being diverted wide from a similar position as the goalkeepers withheld early pressure. The deadlock was broken when Gasser, receiving the ball from full 35 yards, decided to try his luck with a long-range effort that skipped and skidded on the greasy, rain-soaked pitch into the corner of the net.

The lead was nearly doubled just prior to the break when Wilfried Bony struck a wonderful glancing header which went narrowly over the bar.

The scores were level shortly after the break when Hussein Al Saedi whipped in a beautiful cross from the right which was met by the unmarked head of Ali Al Mohannadi.

With the game heading for parity, a defensive mix-up from Morteza Pouraliganji’s header allowed Fahad to sneak in at the back post to seal the three points.