Gulf Times
Al Duhail Monday stunned defending champions Al Sadd 3-2 to reach the final of the Amir Cup.
Playing against a powerful side that was seeking a hat-trick of Amir Cup titles, Al Duhail fought gallantly to post their impressive win under coach Luis Castro who will leave the club after the final.
Al Duhail, winners in 2018 and 2019, will now meet Al Gharafa – the 2012 champions – in the final to be played at the iconic Khalifa International Stadium on Friday.
Tunisian midfielder Ferjani Sassi yesterday produced a timely double for Al Duhail as the former champions completed their gutsy win in a fighting manner at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. Sassi opened the scoring in only the 7th minute but Al Sadd hit back through Andre Ayew in the 33rd. Al Duhail’s Kenyan striker Michael Olunga made it 2-1 when he found the net in the 44th minute of the feisty clash. Sassi scored his second and Al Duhail’s third goal in the 80th minute.
Feared Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah created a bit of stir in the Al Duhail camp when he headed home with a neat header on a long Abdel Karim Hassan cross in the 90th minute as Al Sadd reduced the deficit late in the second half.
In the dying seconds of injury time, veteran midfielder Rodrigo Tabata curled in a spectacular free-kick that was palmed away by Al Duhail keeper Salah Zakaria Hassan. Al Sadd’s Pedro Miguel was expelled from the match in the 71st minute.
Almoez Ali, the Al Duhail captain, said: “I congratulate our management and my team players. Al Sadd is a big team. When we were 1-1, anything could have happened. We remained focus. Thank God we kept fighting. We had good support. The fans are everything for us.
Abdul Karim Hasan said: “Playing the Amir Cup is always a big thing for us. It is a big tournament. The fans were there for us. We had big support. We couldn’t do it today. I say congratulations to Al Duhail.”
Also yesterday Al Gharafa proved too good for Al Wakrah, winning their Amir Cup semi-final 4-1 at the same venue.
A double by Cheick Diabate (40 and 57) was well supported by Gabriel Pires (8) and Homam Ahmed (68) as Al Gharafa rarely looked in trouble.
For Al Wakrah, the only goal was scored by Gelson Dala in the 35th minute. Pires opened the scoring in the 8th minute when he latched on to a loose ball inside the Al Wakrah box following a corner kick.
The Brazilian midfielder fired home a left-footed drive from close range to give his side the lead with a neat finish.
In the 35th minute, Al Wakrah equalised when Dala connected on a low cross by Murad Naji who slipped in a neat ball from the flank. Dala produced a deflection with a lunge that sent the ball into the net past the Al Gharafa keeper. Diabate scored his first of the evening when he received a long ball from the midfield and charged towards the Al Wakrah goal with defender Mohamed Emad Aisha giving chase.
As the keeper stepped out of his box, Diabate clipped the ball through the legs of the keeper and into an open net with no defender in sight in the 40th minute.
Three minutes from the one-hour mark, Diabate made it to 3-1 for his side when Al Wakrah keeper Saud al-Khater fumbled on a long cross.
The fumbled ball landed near Diabate who headed home after an initial shot that was blocked by a defender. Al Gharafa wrapped a commanding performance when Ahmed volleyed into the net on a loopy cross by Hanni Safianne in the 68th minute.
Homam al-Ameen of Al Gharafa said: “It is a big win for us. This win is for our fans. We give our thanks to God. This is what we wanted to do. Hopefully we continue to play like this.
Al Wakrah’s Ahmed Fazal said yesterday: “We say congratulations to Al Gharafa. It was their day. They deserve to win. Hard luck to my side. We wanted to win. We tried our best.”
Youssef Hassan, the Al Gharafa goalkeeper, said: “Reaching the Amir Cup final is a great honour for any player. My team presented a good performance against Al Wakrah and we achieved a deserving victory.”
He added: “Our joy is indescribable on reaching the final of the most popular football tournament in Qatar. We are proud of reaching the final as it is great honour for us. We had a great desire to reach the final after we reached the semi-finals. We were very committed.”