Al-Sadd clinch Emir Cup after 2-1 win over Al-Rayyan

Al-Sadd were crowned champions of the 2017 Emir Cup after a thrilling 2-1 win over Al-Rayyan in the final that was played at the Khalifa International Stadium on Friday.

Rodrigo Tabata had opened the scoring for Al-Rayyan in the 49th minute before Hassan Al-Haydos equalized with a 56th minute penalty. Jugurtha Hamroun then clinched the game for Al-Sadd with a 91st minute winner.

Cautious start, a few attempts

The beginning of the match saw both teams display caution and there was no real danger at either end until the 8th minute, when Al-Sadd had the ball in the net. Ibrahim Majid’s powerful free kick was parried away by Al-Rayyan goalkeeper Omar Barry, who then blocked the rebound from Al-Haydos. Morteza Pouraliganji then headed the ball into the net, but the effort was disallowed as Al-Haydos was in an offside position. Al-Rayyan then gave their reply with a shot in the 9th minute from Tabat which was saved by Saad Al-Dosari in the Al-Sadd goal. Hamroun then dribbled from the left and then sent in a ball which went wide of the left post.

Al-Sadd attacks, Al-Rayyan on the back foot

Al-Sadd went on to make more attempts in search of goal, especially after dominating possession in midfield. Al-Sadd played with a 4-2-3-1 system that had a back four of Morteza Pouraliganji, Ibrahim Majid, Abdelkarim Hassan and Hamed Ismail and the duo of Ali Asad and Pedro in central midfield. In front, the attacking trio of Al-Haydos, Xavi and Hamroun played behind the lone striker Baghdad Bounedjah.

The Wolves dominate without posing real danger

The domination of Al-Sadd continued in the first half but the players were unable to pose any real danger to the Al-Rayyan goal, especially with the opponents standing firm in defence. In the 33rd minute, Hamroun fashioned a chance after dribbling through the left but his cross was cleared by the defence. Pedro had a powerful shot at goal in the 42nd minute but it got deflected and was saved by Barry. The referee then blew his whistle to signal for halftime, with the score at 0-0.

Tabata scores at the start of the second half

The second half began with Al-Rayyan making a quick impact. In the 49th minute, Tabata connected with a through ball and shot at goal. Al-Dosari saved the effort but the rebound fell to Tabata again, who made no mistake from close range to make it 1-0 to Al-Rayyan.

Al-Haydos equalizes from the spot

Al-Rayyan’s lead did not last for long. In the 56th minute, Al-Sadd were awarded a penalty for Mohammed Alaa’s foul on Bounedjah in the box and Al-Haydos stepped up to finish past Barry and make it 1-1. The game returned to a period of calm after the goal and both sides started focusing on a defensive manner.

Kasola replaces Hamed

Al-Sadd made their first change of the match by bringing on Mohamed Kasola in place of Hamed Ismail in the 70th minute. Kasola took his place in central idfield alongside Ali Asad while Pedro moved to right back. In the 78th minute, Al-Haydos dribbed through the right wing and played the ball to Ali Asad whose cross was controlled by Baghdad Bounedjah but the Algerian’s shot went over the crossbar.

Saddawi pressure, late goal from Hamroun

The Wolves continued to put pressure on Al-Rayyan in the final minutes of the game. Ali Asad thought he’d scored in the 85th minute but his effort went slightly wide of the left post. The referee then signalled for four minutes of additional time. In the first minute of additional time, Xavi played in a through ball to Hamroun who dribbled ahead and then netted past Barry to give his side their second goal and what proved to be the winning goal.

MATCH DETAILS

Al-Sadd x Al-Rayyan (2017 Emir Cup final)

VENUE:

Khalifa International Stadium

LINEUPS:

Al-Sadd: Saad Al-Dosari, Abdelkarim Hassan, Ibrahim Majid, Morteza Pouraliganji, Hamed Ismail (Mohamed Kasola), Pedro, Ali Asad, Xavi, Jugurtha Hamroun (Hamza Al-Sanhaji), Hassan Al-Haydos, Baghdad Bounedjah

Al-Rayyan: Omar Barry, Mohammed Alaa, Nathan Otavio, Ahmed Alaa (Sebastian Soria), Sergio Garcia, Rodrigo Tabata, Gonzalo Viera, Victor Caceres, Koh Myong Jin, Daniel Gomou (Abdulrahman Al-Harazi), Musab Kheder

RESULT:

Al-Sadd won 2-1

GOALS:

Rodrigo Tabata 49′

Hassan Al-Haydos 56′

Jugurtha Hamroun 90′

REFEREES:

Gianluca Rocchi (Referee)

Matteo Passeri (Linesman)

Alessandro Giallatini (Linesman)

Jumuah Burshid (Fourth official)

Salman Falahi (Additional)

Khamis Al-Marri (Additional)