Al Gharafa's midfielder Vladimir Weiss (left) vies for the ball pocession against El Jaish's Murad Naji during their Qatar Stars League game at Lekhwiya Stadium yesterday.
Former Qatar Stars League (QSL) champions Al Gharafa yesterday fought in style to beat El Jaish 2-1 at Lekhwiya Stadium.
Krisztian Nemeth (25) and Vladimir Weiss (78), penalty) scored for the winners in the tense round 12 clash.
It was Al Gharafa's seventh win of the season as points leaders El Jaish suffered only their second loss of the season. For Sabri Lamouchi's side, the only goal was scored by Uzbek import Sardor Rashidov in the 66th minute. El Jaish dominated proceedings (53) percent in the first 10 minutes as both sides struggled for ball possession at Lekhwiya Stadium.
After the cagey start, El Jaish's Rashidov sneaked into the Al Gharafa box but his powerful shot towards the goal was blocked by goalkeeper Yusuf Ali who managed to punch the ball to kill the threatening move.
Three minutes later, striker Romario of El Jaish launched a fierce drive from the edge of the box but his shot narrowly missed the Al Gharafa goalpost.
By the 20th minute, El Jaish had increased their ball possession to 55 percent - they also managed a tally of four corners - as the home side started to build pressure on Al Gharafa.
However, it was the former champions who opened the scoring.
In the 25th minute, Nemeth produced an acrobatic volley off a curling corner kick to help the one-time QSL giants take lead.
It was Nemeth's fifth goal in the season for Al Gharafa.
Nine minutes later, El Jaish's Ahmed Moein went for a powerful left-drive from the edge of the Al Gharafa box but his shot was palmed away by goalkeeper Ali.
In the 50th minute, Romario slipped into the El Jaish box and took aim at the goal but his shot was blocked by Abdulaziz Abdulla who put in the dive.
Two minutes later, Al Gharafa skipper Luwrance Quaya produced a snap-header inside El Jaish box but his close-range deflection missed the far goalpost by inches.
In the 66th minute, El Jaish's Rashidov produced a powerful shot to help the QSL giants equalize.
Twelve minutes later, El Jaish skipper Ali Al-Nuaimi brought down Muyad Hassan of Al Gharafa, a tackle that saw referee point to the penalty spot much to the dismay of El Jaish players and officials at the touchline.
Weiss scored off the penalty with a gentle tap to the left of El Jaish goalkeeper Saoud Al-Khater in the 78th minute.
A couple of minutes later, El Jaish's Lucas Mendes dived inside the Al Gharafa box but got penalised for 'faking' a foul instead.
