Doha: Second Division side Al Shahania stunned Al Gharafa 4-3 on penalties to advance to the semi-finals of the 51st Amir Cup at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, yesterday. Both the teams were locked 3-3 in regulation time. Abdulaziz Al Yahri (18th minute), Amir Roustaei (44th minute) and Ousmane Coulibaly (60th minute) scored goals for Al Shahania. For Al Gharafa, Moayad Hassan (48th minute), Yacine Brahimi (75th minute) and Ishak Belfodil (83rd minute) were the scorers. In a match favoured for Al Gharafa, Abdulaziz Al Yahri and Amir Roustaei opened the scoring for Al Shahania, bounding the squad with a lead against the fourth-ranked team in the Qatar Stars League (QSL). Despite the 2-0 lead for Al Shahania, Al Gharafa played a fierce challenge to make a comeback and ultimately did so with the talents of Moayad Hassan in the 48th minute. The third and last goal would arise from the feet of former Mali defender Ousmane Coulibaly as the right-back secured the lead for his team before the efforts from both Al Gharafa’s Yacine Brahimi and Ishak Belfodil in the deep second half.

Tied 3-3 at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Al Shahania’s goalkeeper Bautista Burke kept his team from elimination as he guarded the penalty box against Al Gharafa’s strikers. The 20-year-old hemmed his underdog squad to come out on top, eliminating Al-Gharafa on penalties in the tournament’s quarterfinals. The triumph would add to coach Alvaro Mejia’s evolving resume, as it would be another win over two first-division teams so far in the season. On Monday, Al Duhail will face Al Sailiya as the team will seek to claim their second title triumph. Tuesday will see the star-studded Al Sadd team take on Umm Salal as both teams battle it out to meet either Al Arabi or Al Shahania.