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Al Nasr undone 4-2 at home by Qatar’s Al Gharafa

Al Nasr were undone by three first half goals from Al Gharafa at the Maktoum Stadium on Tuesday night, in their third group game of the AFC Champions League. A spirited second-half fightback pulled two goals back for the UAE side, but their misery was compounded by going 4-2 down late on and making it extremely difficult for them to progress to the final 16 of the competition.

It took until the 21st minute for a shot to be registered on target, as French striker Djibril Cisse used his pace on the left and stung the palms of Ahmed Shambieh in the Al Nasr goal. Three minutes later it was the former English Premier League player who made the difference, giving Al Gharafa a one-goal advantage. A free kick was awarded on the back line and taken by the Brazilian attacker Nene, whose cross was nodded in by an unchallenged Cisse at the back post to put Al Gharafa 1-0 up in the 24th minute. It didn’t take long for Al Gharafa to double their lead as Hamed Shami got forward and exploited a defensive error from Ahmed Ali before striking a sweet left-footed shot across Shambieh’s body and into the net, making it 2-0 to the visitors in the 31st minute. Al Nasr head coach Walter Zenga made his first change of the night two minutes later, withdrawing the unfortunate Ahmed Ali and bringing on Mahmoud Darwish. In the 34th minute Al Nasr won their first corner of the game, and moments later a dangerous cross was whipped in by Humaid Abdulla from the right but was punched away by Al Gharafa ‘keeper Qasem Burhan before the onrushing Bruno Cesar could do any damage. Things then went from bad to worse for Al Nasr, who conceded a penalty just before half time when Khalifa Mubarak was adjudged to have brought down Nene on the edge of the box. Nene dusted himself down to take the spot kick with a stuttered run-up before putting it to the left of Shambieh and giving Al Gharafa a comfortable 3-0 lead right on the 45th minute.

Walter Zenga made a second substitution at half time, bringing on Japanese striker Takayuki Morimoto in place of Essa Ali, and it seemed the Italian manager’s team talk made all the difference as Al Nasr looked a different side as the second period got underway. In the 51st minute Younus Ahmed went close with a looping header from a corner, and seconds later the same player broke forward down the left and lofted a cross in the direction of Morimoto but it was cut out by Al Gharafa for a corner. A glancing header from Khalifa Mubarak forced an acrobatic save from Al Gharafa’s custodian in what was Al Nasr’s most sustained period of pressure of the game so far, and soon Al Nasr got their reward as Habib Al Fardan pulled one back in the 56th minute. A long throw from the right was flicked on by Younus Ahmed and Habib Al Fardan leapt highest in the box to bury his header. Seconds later and with a new lease of life in their play, Habib Al Fardan was again the catalyst as Al Nasr streamed forward but Bruno Cesar elected to shoot wildly instead of return the pass to Al Fardan and the opportunity was lost. Just two minutes after getting back in the game, Al Nasr really sensed a fight back on the cards as they reduced the deficit to only one goal. A cross from Khaled Sarwashi on the left was backheeled by Morimoto in the box, forcing a save from Qasem Burhan in the Al Gharafa goal. The ball then fell to Bruno Cesar who made no mistake by slotting a right-footed shot into the net to make it 3-2 in the 58th minute. The rejuvenated home side played with regained confidence as Mahmoud Darwish tried his luck from distance in the 60th minute, and five minutes later Giuseppe Mascara’s free kick almost found Helal Saeed in the area but Djibril Cisse turned the ball behind for a corner.

A lull in play followed as Al Nasr failed to keep up their impetus, and in the 78th minute Shambieh pulled off a flying save to keep out Nene’s curling long-range strike. After Habib Al Fardan was replaced in the 83rd minute by Hassan Amin in Al Nasr’s final substitution of the game, Al Gharafa put the result beyond doubt by scoring a fourth in the 84th minute. A speculative effort from distance by Lawrence Quaye bobbled under Shambieh’s body and into the back of the net, killing Al Nasr’s hopes of a comeback. The hard-working Younus Ahmed and Bruno Cesar didn’t give up and both worked the goalkeeper before the final whistle, but it was too little too late as Al Nasr were on the wrong end of a 4-2 scoreline.