(MENAFN - The Peninsula) The Peninsula

Al Arabi secured a crucial 3-0 victory over nine-man Al Khor on home soil while Al Gharafa were held by a gutsy Qatar SC outfit as week-11 of the QNB Stars League came to a closure yesterday.
Gaser Zakaria (33rd minute) and Khalfan Ibrahim (71st and 88th) scored the goals for Al Arabi.
Al Khor's influential playmaker Soroush Hossein saw red after just three minutes following a crunching tackle on rival captain Ammar Jamal.
Al Khor's Castan Silva's powerful header, while under pressure, could not quite find the target. The deadlock was broken as Gaser reacted quickest to a corner and saw his header take a wicked deflection off Reza Najafi's shoulder and into the net to give Al Arabi the lead.
Shortly after the second half got under way, The Knights were reduced to nine men as Mehdi Ahmed picked up a second booking following a challenge on Khalfan, who would eventually kill the game off.
Midway through the session, Yousef Abdulsemea was brought down in the penalty area and Khalfan doubled the home side's advantage with a coolly-struck shot down the middle of the goal.
Into the final minutes of the game, he tapped home the third for The Dream Team following a neatly-controlled pass from Ahmed Khalfan to record a much-needed victory.
Later, at Qatar SC Stadium, captain Luis Jimenez put Al Gharafa ahead with a penalty in the 34th minute, an advantage nullified by home team's substitute striker Mahamadou Bezannier in the 83rd.
Elsewhere, Umm Salal came from behind to secure a 1-1 victory against newcomers Al Markhiya.
Kwame Karikari opened the scoring in the 12th minute and Umm Salal's equaliser came through Adil Rhaili in the 57th.

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