Alkass Digital
Al Wakrah got the better of Al Sadd 5-4 on penalties after staging a stoppage-time comeback for a 2-2 draw in full time in the semifinal of Qatar Cup 2024 at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium of Al Rayyan club on Wednesday.
This is the first time that Al Wakrah have made it to the final of Qatar Cup and on their second successive appearance in the prestigious tournament.
Omar Ali, who took the sixth spot kick for Al Wakrah, and earlier Jacinto Dala, who helped his side draw parity at 2-2 with a top-class goal, were the heroes of the evening for The Blue Wave, who battled both Al Sadd and a downpour to seal their place in the final.
While Lucas Mendes failed to strike first up during the shoot-out for Al Wakrah, Boaulem Khoukhi and Mohammed Waad missed for Al Sadd.
Earlier, Al Sadd seemed to be running away with the game as they led 2-0 at half-time, with Akram Afif (11h minute) and Gonzalo Plata (27th minute) scoring for them.
A fighting Al Wakrah, however, chased down The Wolves as Ayoub Assal first struck in the 73rd minute and Jacinto Dala scored a brilliant goal in added time (90+3 minute).
Al Wakrah launched themselves into the clash with attacking play in the second half which saw both sides miss some scoring chances. In the 50th minute, Al Wakrah’s Mohamed Benyettou’s diagonal kick just went past the left post while, six minutes later, Dala also hit wide after being in front of the goal.
In the 66th minute, Benyettou made a superb cross, but Nasser Al Yazidi’s header went just over the crossbar.
Al Wakrah’s hard efforts bore fruits soon, with Assal initiating a move and himself moving down the box before three players combined in getting the ball back to him to make the telling strike (2-1).
In the 75th minute, it began to rain and, following a robust counter-move, Al Wakrah were in the striking range again, but Benyettou could not get a good hold on his kick which went just off the right post.
In the 87th minute, Al Wakrah heaved a sigh of relief when a penalty decision (after goalkeeper Mohammed Al Bakri ran in to avert an Afif attempt) was overruled after a VAR check.
It was not long before Dala dashed in from the left to make a sublime strike from outside the box, which saw the ball hit both the crossbar and the inside right post before rushing in (2-2).
With shoot-out enforced soon after full time, Omar Ali, who was substituted replacing Assal in the 89th minute, turned out to be the match winner for Al Wakrah.
While Hassan Al Haydous, Mateus Uribe, Gonzalo Plata and Afif were on target for Al Sadd, Benyettou, Lucas Sainsbury, Hamdy Fathi, Rabeh Boussafi and Omar Ali scored for Al Wakrah.