Al Sailiya players celebrate after defeating Al Gharafa in their QNB Stars League match on Saturday.
Doha: Al Sailiya’s gritty comeback win over former champions Al Gharafa on Saturday has delighted coach Sami Trabelsi.
In a round 13 clash on Saturday, Al Sailiya rallied from a goal down to beat Al Gharafa 2-1 after a stunning effort by substitute Mohamad Rajeb who produced a header with a full-length forward dive to score Al Sailiya’s winning goal in injury time.
Earlier, Mashaal Qassim Al Shammari scored Al Sailiya’s first goal in the 73rd minute. For Al Gharafa, the only goal was scored by Slovakian star Vladimir Weiss off a penalty in the 51st minute at Al Ahli Stadium.
“I believe we have managed to get an important win at this stage of the league,” Trabelsi said after the match. “We won against a top side and I think Al Sailiya showed great character,” he added.
“Three points are very important as we move forward,” the Tunisian said. “This is the kind of fight I like in my team. The journey is long and there are many matches to go but we have the attackers needed to score goals,” he said.
“I would like to praise the performances of Mashaal Al Shammari and Mohamad Rajeb as they played extremely well in the absence of Rachid Tiberkanine. The replacement players did not disappoint. They did what was required of them,” the coach said.
In the 73rd minute on Saturday, a keeper’s gaffe from Al Gharafa’s Yousuf Ali, an U-23 player, allowed Al Sailiya to equalise late in the second half. Ali, standing a couple of feet outside his own box, failed to clear a loopy ball that flew in his direction. Ali’s shot bounced off substitute Al Shammari who drove the ball into an open net with a left-footed shot.
In injury time (90 + 3), Rajeb produced a deft header with a forward lunge on a loopy cross from the flank to score Al Sailiya’s winning strike.
When asked about his team’s second spot in the QNB Stars League points table, Trabelsi said: “We always look to be in the top three or four. We are capable of doing it, of course.”
Al Gharafa coach Christian Gourcuff said his team missed chances to score.
“It was an important match and we always looked for a win. We did not win because we made mistakes. When you compete in the league, making mistakes can prove costly,” Gourcuff said.
“There were difficulties in the match but I thought we were better in the second half,” he added. “But the result was not in our favour,” he said.
“It’s hard to wait for a penalty just to score. We had scoring opportunities but we were not able to turn them into goals. It’s true that when a mistake like goalkeeper Youssef Hassan comes in, you concede a goal,” the coach said.
“We lost but there are opportunities to get better results,” the Frenchman said.
