A stoppage-time goal from Isaac Success (90+2 minute) saw Al Wasl register a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Al Gharafa in Round 3 of 2024-2025 season AFC Champions League Elite (West Zone) at the Al Bayt Stadium in Doha on Tuesday, October 22, 2024.
Earlier, an 84th-minute penalty for Al Wasl put paid to the hosts’ good work and when they were leading 1-0 after Ferjani Sassi had put them ahead in the 44th minute of the match.
A long VAR check found a faint hand touch of Abdallah Yousuf while trying to block a Fabio Lima shot. Lima then stepped up to convert the spot kick and draw parity for his side at 1-1.
Soon, in the second minute of added time, Al Wasl got an on-the-go strike as Alexis Fontanilla ran in deep to return a pass from near the goal-line for a waiting Success to score.
Earlier, Al Gharafa had held sway for most part of the contest and just before the half-time whistle, The Cheetahs made the most of a short corner, taken by Yacine Brahimi. He moved the ball to Florinel Coman who drilled in a cross that hit Haris Seferovic and ball bounced for an alert Sassi to guide home the ball using his left knee.
Prior to the this, Al Gharafa had come close when Joselu found space just inside the Al Wasl box, but Salem Alazizi slid in to make a crucial block.
Al Wasl had a good chance to equalize nine minutes into the second half after Nicolas Gimenez surged on the left before finding Lima in the box, but the UAE international headed wide.
Soon Al Gharafa’s Coman embarked on a mazy run before cutting the ball back to Joselu, only for the Spaniard to send his shot into the wrong side of the post before Sassi headed just wide from close range.
The win took Al Wasl’s tally to six points, while Al Gharafa stayed on three.
Al Gharafa will next meet Iran’s Persepolis on November 4 with Al Wasl hosting Al Sadd in Dubai on the same day.