Al Gharafa clinch a late 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli in Qatar
Yesterday was an important day for Qatar sports as a Saudi Arabian football club had visited Doha for the first time since the blockade of Qatar began nine months ago.
When Qatar’s Al Gharafa took on Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli, they were looking for nothing short of a win. Although it was not to be, Gharafa still clinched a morale-boosting 1-1 draw, reported Gulf Times.
Venezuelan defender Robert Quijada was the hero for the Qatari side as he scored deep into injury time of the second half of the AFC Champions League Group A match at the Al Gharafa Stadium.
Earlier, Al Ahli’s Aqeel Al Sahbi had headed in the first goal of his season to put the visitors ahead in the game’s 62nd minute. The defender arrived in the box and leapt high to head the ball powerfully past Qasem Burhan from a Salman Al Moasher cross, reported Qatar Tribune.
But Gharafa never gave up and they fought hard for an equaliser. They were rewarded for their tenacity and intensity by a late goal from the unlikeliest of sources.
Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder, who recently joined the Qatari side, sent a pinpoint cross for Quijada who watched his header ricochet off the post. But he then followed through on the rebound to drive home the equaliser in added time of the second half.
Al Gharafa will travel to the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium in Jeddah for the reverse fixture next Tuesday.
Al Sadd lose
Qatar’s Al Sadd were upset by Uzbekistan’s Nasaf. The former AFC Champions League winners, who won the continental tournament in 2011, fell 1-0 away at the Markaziy Stadium in the southern Uzbek city of Qarshi.
Al Sadd, Nasaf and Iran’s Persepolis are all level on six points in Group C.
