Qatar- Al Gharafa beat Umm Salal 5-1 to seal top-four finish Al Arabi, Al Wakrah win

(MENAFN - The Peninsula) The Peninsula Doha: Al Gharafa managed to storm back into top four in the final standings with a magnificent 5-1 win over Umm Salal while Al Arabi and Al Wakrah gained full points on the final day of the QNB Stars League season yesterday. This means Al Gharafa will have the opportunity to play in the play-off round of the next season's AFC Champions League. At the Qatar SC Stadium yesterday, Jacheol Koo (26), captain Othman Alawi (47), Ahmed Alganehi (59), Jonathan Kodjia (62) and Guedioura Adlane (90) were on target for Al Gharafa after Kayke Rodrigues (15) put Umm Salal ahead. It was Al Gharafa's 10th win of the season, as they signed off with 33 points. Al Ahli (-10) also finished with 33 points but The Cheetahs maintained a better goal difference (+7) to take back their fourth position. Al Ahli ended up fifth with Qatar SC (32 points) slipping to sixth position in the final standings. Umm Salal finished 10th with 21 points after facing 11th defeat. The Orange Fortress, however, started their final match on a positive note as a defensive error by Al Gharafa handed them an opportunity to open account but Kayke's hit from edge of the box was too high. Kayke collected another fine cross from the centre but his attempt flew over the crossbar again. Kodjia's touch from near the penalty spot after Homam Elamin's cross was brilliantly saved by Umm Salal goalkeeper Samy Habib with a dive on his left. Kayke then came up with a stunning free kick from left just outside the box, firing the ball in the right corner, giving no chance to Al Gharafa goalkeeper Yousof Hassan despite a diving effort. As Al Gharafa looked to fight back, captain Othman's dangerous strike from inside the box was deflected away after taking defender Ali Mohammad's touch with Habib nowhere to be seen. Koo's incredible back-heel goal from close to the right upright brought The Cheetahs back into the game. Umm Salal left Homam Elamin unmarked inside the box after conceding a free kick, letting him to pass the ball easily to the South Korean, who finished the ball in a spectacular fashion.  Al Gharafa started dominating the proceedings after their opening goal, making several attacks including a couple of dangerous attempts by Kodjia, which were thwarted by Habib as teams went into the half-time with scores leveled. The Cheetahs clinched lead soon after the start of second half through their captain when Umm Salal keeper Habib miscalculated Sofiane Hanni's cross and failed to grab the ball, giving a golden opportunity to Othman, who struck the ball in the right corner with a rocket. Just before the one hour mark, Al Gharafa extended their lead after Alganehi headed the ball in from Othman's cross following a corner. Three minutes later, Al Gharafa made it 4-1 with Kodjia opening his account with a header from a corner kick. Umm Salal failed to stage a comeback despite making a lot of effort before Adlane completed Al Gharafa's emphatic victory with a strike in the last minute. Al Arabi's hat-trick hero Mehrdad Mohammadi (centre) in action against Al Sailiya players yesterday. Earlier, at the same venue, a brilliant hat-trick by Mehrdad Mohammadi helped Al Arabi defeat Al Sailiya 3-1 as the Dream Team finished in the seventh spot. Mohammadi scored in the 9th (penalty), 26th and 81st minutes, while Ramin Rezaeian (45+2) pulled one back for Al Sailiya who ended the season in the ninth spot with 26 points. Later, at Al Sadd Stadium, Al Wakrah handed relegated Al Kharaitiyat their18th loss on the final day of the QSL season. Abdeirahman Moustafa (13) and Abdulghani Mazeed (45+1) scored for the winners.MENAFN11042021000063011010ID1101896831