The Qatar League champions have yet to pick up a win in three games of the continental showpiece and sit five points behind group leaders Al Qadsia with only nine left to play for in their attempt to secure a place in September’s quarter-finals.

Ahmed Ajab headed Mesaed Nada’s cross past Al Gharafa goalkeeper Abdulaziz Ali with 28 minutes remaining at the Mohammed Al Hamad Stadium, as the unbeaten Kuwaiti side picked up their second win after drawing with Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor last time out.

"It was a disappointing defeat as we couldn’t score from the chances we had in the game," said Paqueta.

"We tried to take advantage of our high crosses while Al Qadsia took advantage of the spaces that were left by our players.

"Our players were tired as they played against Qatar Sports Club recently in the Qatar Crown Prince Cup and the heavy schedule has affected them a lot.

"We still have three matches to play and hopefully we can come back in the remaining matches."

While Al Gharafa will need to quickly return to winning ways in the return fixture in two weeks to stand a chance to reaching the knockout stage, Al Qadisiya are favourites to advance to the last eight.

Al Qadsia’s Portuguese coach Jose Garrido will be well aware a victory against Al Gharafa in Qatar on matchday four, coupled with a draw between Arbil and Pakhtakor, would see his side open up a five point cushion with just two games to play and put one foot in the knockout stage.

"I’m really happy with this win as we got three important points from a tough opponent," said Garrido.

"Al Gharafa tried to close the play and that affected us as they stopped several of our attacks.

"We don’t have a scoring problem as we have scored a lot of goals in our local league. But we should not compare the local league with the AFC Champions League. The most important thing for us is to win.

"I’m delighted with this win and hopefully we can continue with similar performances in our remaining matches."