Al Arabi beat Al Gharafa 1-0 in Round 4, Group B of the 2022-2023 season Ooredoo Cup at the Qatar University Stadium 4 on Saturday.

The all-important goal was scored by Al Arabi’s Omar Al Somah in the 85th minute of the crucial clash.

The win, their third in the tournament, saw Al Arabi move on to nine points and reach the knockout semifinals as the second team from the group, behind Al Duhail, ahead of the fifth and final round.

Al Gharafa stayed on five points.

Al Shamal, Al Markhiya, Al Duhail and Al Rayyan are the other teams in Group B.

Group A consists of Al Sadd, Al Wakrah, Umm Salal, Al Ahli, Qatar SC and Al Sailiya.

Both Al Arabi and Al Gharafa battled hard and were good both in attack and defence before Al Arabi’s Syrian striker delivered the winning goal, much to the delight of team-mates.

Both coaches – Younes Ali of Al Arabi and Andrea Stramaccioni of Al Gharafa – were looking to put their best combinations for the match in order to score a win and stay in contention for the Ooredoo Cup knockout stage and also to be ready for the league championship (QNB Stars League) when it resumes.