Al Gharafa’s Ahmed Alaaeldin (left) in action against Al Shahania captain Mostafa Jalal Jafri during their opening match of the QNB Stars League at Al Janoub Stadium yesterday. Picture: Twitter/ @alkasschannel
Qatari forward Ahmed Alaaeldin scored twice and newly recruited Algerian star Sofiane Hani added one more as Al Gharafa beat Al Shahania 3-0 winners in their opening QNB Stars League match yesterday.
At the Al Janoub Stadium, Alaaeldin scored in the 64th minute before the lead was doubled by his new 28-year-old team-mate in the 72nd minute.
Alaaeldin scored his second goal in the seconds before the final whistle (90+4) to give his team a memorable start to the new season.
From start to finish, it was a very dominant performance from Slavisa Jokanovic’s men as they put down an early marker for the season.
The opening half saw a collection of chances created by The Cheetahs as they kept pushing for that opening goal, most notably through Sofiane and Alaaeldin, with the latter’s back-heeled shot drifting marginally wide of the post.
The two teams could have been easily separated at the break had it not been for the goalkeeping expertise of Khalifa Al Dossari in goal for Al Shahania.
The second half commenced in similar attacking fashion, with Al Gharafa hitting three well-struck volleys within a five-minute period.
The resistance was finally broken when Alaaeldin latched on to Sofiane’s pass to drill the ball home.
Fewer than 10 minutes later, they doubled their lead spectacularly when Sofiane beat the onrushing goalkeeper with a superb flick.
At that point, it was game over and Alaaeldin ended the match by beating the offside trap to grab his second of the night.
Later, at the Al Sadd Stadium, Al Sailiya and Al Khor settled in for a one-all draw in their season opener.
Both goals were scored through penalty kicks. Karim Ansari scored the first goal of the match in the 19th minute before scores were levelled by Brazilian Tiago Queiroz Bezerra in the 38th minute.
