Caitlin Dillon
The 47th edition of the Amir Cup kicked off last night with a second division qualifying match between Mesaimeer and Al Shamal, who placed fourth and fifth in the QatarGas League respectively.
Mesaimeer opened the scoreline with an eleventh minute goal, effortlessly slotted past Shaheen Ghanem Al-Kuwari by Elbahr Hasan Mahmoud.
It wasn’t until the 50th minute that Al Shamal managed to level the playing ground, when Abdulaziz Humaid Al Maqbali scored the equaliser.
In the minutes that followed, both teams fought to come out on top, however in the 84th minute, Mesaimeer’s Aldouni Mohamad Ahmed executed a poor sliding tackle on Shamal’s Dhabaan Nabil Ahmed inside the box, giving away a critical penalty, and ultimately Mesaimeer’s Amir Cup dreams, when Shamal’s Al Maqbali netted their second, and final, goal of the match with just over five minutes till the whistle.
Al Shamal will be joining recently promoted Al Wakrah, as well as Second Division Muaither and Al-Markhiya in the Amir Cup 2019. The official draw ceremony for the competition will take place on Monday morning, when the four Second Division sides will find out which of the QNB Stars League teams they will be faced with in the first round of the competition.