Al-Gharafa Qatar's team is set to face Esteghlal in the second week of the Asian Elite League while experiencing one of its worst season starts. After three defeats in the first five weeks of the Qatar Stars League and only one victory, the team is at the bottom of the table with four points, and its disappointing results have angered the fans.
Problems on the Field
The dramatic defeat of Al-Gharafa against Al-Wakrah with a score of 3-2 in the fifth week of the league highlighted the serious problems of this team. Al-Gharafa missed numerous scoring opportunities in this match, and individual mistakes by its players allowed the opponent to score. Eissa Al-Aidouni scored the first goal for Al-Wakrah in the 38th minute, and the third goal came from a mistake by Khalifa Abubakar, Al-Gharafa's goalkeeper.
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After a 2-1 victory against Al-Shahaniya in the first week of the league, Al-Gharafa has not tasted victory again. The team lost 3-1 to Al-Shamal in the second week and was defeated 2-1 by Al-Sadd in the semifinals of the Qatar Cup. This trend continued in the following weeks as the team lost 4-1 to Al-Sadd in the third week, drew 0-0 against Lusail in the fourth week, and lost 2-1 to Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the Asian Elite League.
Reasons for Failures
Since August 21, Al-Gharafa has been struggling with negative results and has not been able to achieve victory for about two and a half months. This trend is unprecedented and concerning for a historic club like Al-Gharafa, which is accustomed to winning titles. All aspects of the club share responsibility for the current crisis of Al-Gharafa. Part of these problems is attributed to the technical and tactical decisions of Pedro Martins, the Portuguese head coach; decisions that include changing the positions of some players and selecting different playing styles.
The coaching staff has not yet found an effective solution to improve the defensive performance. This line has become a clear weak point for Al-Gharafa in many matches this season. On the other hand, wasting simple scoring opportunities has also increased the fans' concerns. This issue becomes particularly frustrating when the team dominates the game but cannot capitalize on its superiority to secure a victory.
Players also share responsibility for these results due to hasty decision-making and individual mistakes. The recent match against Al-Wakrah was a clear example of this problem, where three major mistakes led to conceding three goals. Similar issues have also been observed in matches against Al-Sadd, Al-Shamal, and Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia.
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