Al Gharafa defeated Umm Salal 2-1 in Week 9 of the 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League at the Thani Bin Jassim Stadium of Al Gharafa club on Saturday.

Farid Boulaya (39th minute) and Ferjani Sassi (89th minute) were on target for Al Gharafa, while Umm Salal got their only goal through Kenji Gorre in the 57th minute.

With the result, Al Gharafa now have 22 points, while Umm Salal remained on 11 points.

Al Gharafa were the pressing side for most of the early minutes of the first half and, expectedly, most of the chances went to them with Yohan Boli, Jang Hyun-Soo, Ahmed Alaaeldin and Ferjani Sassi attempts either narrowly going wide, saved, or blocked.

Umm Salal’s closest attempt at goal within the first 15 minutes was a header from the centre of the box by Marouan Louadni, off an assist from Oussama Tannane, in the 13th minute. But the attempt, though quite close, missed narrowly to the right.

After several knocks on Umm Salal’s door, Al Gharafa finally got their opening goal against the run of play in the 39th minute, with Boulaya’s curling right-footed shot from outside the box hitting the top right corner of goal following a misplaced back pass by Oussama Tannane.

Despite Umm Salal’s attempt at a quick equaliser, Al Gharafa’s defence held firm as both teams headed for half-time break.

Gorre restored parity for Umm Salal in the 57th minute with a right-footed shot from outside the box, after an overlapping run, to the bottom right corner of goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar’s net. The assist came off the boots of Tannane.

With the match seemingly heading for a stalemate, Ferjani restored Al Gharafa’s lead in the 88th minute with a well-placed low right-footed shot right from the edge of the box to make it 2-1 for the visiting team.

Shortly after the goal, a mild drama ensued, with Umm Salal coach Patrice Cateron being given the marching orders for protesting against the referee’s decision following a yellow card shown to Adel Al Sulaimane for a tackle in injury time.

Despite Umm Salal’s attempt at an equaliser, The Cheetahs stood their ground as they ran away with the victory.