Al Gharafa recorded a valuable 2-1 victory over Al Shamal in Week 15 of the 2024-2025 season Ooredoo Stars League at the Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday, February 8, 2025.

Baghdad Bounedjah opened the scoring for Al Shamal in the 56th minute  before Ferjani Sassi equalized for Al Gharafa in the 60th minute.

In the second minute of stoppage time, Mohammed Muntari snatched the precious winning goal for Al Gharafa, raising their score to 31 points, while Al Shamal remained on 19 points.

Bounedjah wasted a penalty kick for Al Shamal in the 14th minute as goalkeeper Khalifa Abubakar saved it and the video assistant referee (VAR) cancelled another penalty kick that was awarded to Al Shamal in the 38th minute.

Al Gharafa controlled the ball from the first minutes, but Al Shamal’s counterattacks posed a great danger as the Al Gharafa goalkeeper excelled in stopping the penalty kick in the 14th minute and prevented a certain goal after Mohammed Omar was alone in the 24th minute.

In the stoppage time of first half, Younes Belhanda scored a goal for Al Shamal, but the referee cancelled it due to Bounedjah being offside.

The second half was more exciting as Al Shamal took the lead with a wonderful goal by Bounedjah, who skillfully dribbled past Seydou Sano before shooting into the net.

But Al Gharafa did not give up and rushed forward until they equalized after only four minutes, following a perfect cross from Yacine Brahimi completed by Ferjani Sassi into the net in the 60th minute.

The excitement increased with the exchange of attacks between the two teams until Al Gharafa succeeded in snatching the victory in 90+2 minute  after Al Shamal goalkeeper Omar Barry made a mistake following a corner kick. The ball fell from his hands and Muntari found it in front of him and deposited it into the net, achieving a valuable victory for Al Gharafa with a score of 2-1.