Second division Al Shahania shocks Al Gharafa to enter semi-finals

Fourth in the Qatar Stars League, Al Gharafa’s loss to the second-division side is a testimony that anything could happen on the pitch. 

Second division side Al Shahania took down Al Gharafa 4-3 on penalties to advance to the semi-finals of the Amir Cup on Sunday.

In a match favoured for Al Gharafa, Abdulaziz Al Yahri and Amir Roustaei opened the scoring for Al Shahania, bounding the squad with a lead against the fourth-ranked team in the Qatar Stars League (QSL).

Despite the 2-0 lead for Al Shahania, Al Gharafa played a fierce challenge to make a comeback and ultimately did so with the talents of Moayad Hassan in the 48th minute.

The third and last goal would arise from the feet of former Mali defender Ousmane Coulibaly as the right-back secured the lead for his team before the efforts from both Al Gharafa’s Yacine Brahimi and Ishak Belfodil in the deep second half.

Tied 3-3 at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Al Shahania’s goalkeeper Bautista Burke kept his team from elimination as he guarded the penalty box against Al Gharafa’s strikers.

The 20-year-old hemmed his underdog squad to come out on top, eliminating Al-Gharafa on penalties in the tournament’s quarterfinals.

The triumph would add to coach Alvaro Mejia’s evolving resume, as it would be another win over two first-division teams so far in the season.

On Monday, Al Duhail will face Al Sailiya as the team will seek to claim their second title triumph.

Tuesday will see the star-studded Al Sadd team take on Umm Salal as both teams battle it out to meet either Al Arabi or Al Shahania.