Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Doha: Al Gharafa new boy Nene (Anderson Luis de Carvalho) made a goal scoring debut as Al Gharafa defeated struggling Al Kharitiyath 3-1 in the Qatar Stars League match on Tuesday.
French coach Alain Perrin decided to start the match with both the new big signings Nene and Dijbiril Cisse but it was local lad Bilal Mohammed who broke the ice in the 42nd minute.
Brazilian Diego Tardelli scored his 9th goal of the season in the 60th minute and debutant Nene justified Al Gharafa’s decision to make a big money move for him by finding the net in the 70th minute.
Burkina Faso’s Yahia Kebe pegged one back for the visitors in the 76th but it was too little too late to stage any fight back.
Having started the season poorly, Garafa are still 13 points behind leaders Al Sadd despite collecting 12 points from their past four matches. They have accumulated 21 points – one behind fourth placed fellow ACL 2013 contenders El Jaish.
Al Gharafa start the ACL 2013 campaign with a difficult away trip to Saudi Arabia where they face last year’s ACL runners-up Al Ahli. Iran league champions Sepahan and the playoff winner between Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv and Al Nasr of the UAE are the other teams of Group C.