Al Sadd's players and officials celebrate withe the trophy after winning the Ooredoo Cup ?nal against Al Arabi at Al Duhail Stadium, yesterday.
Doha: A brilliant team effort by Al Sadd sealed a 4-0 win over Al Arabi as Xavi Hernandez-coached Wolves were crowned Ooredoo Cup champions at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium yesterday.
Yousuf Abdurisag (17), Nam Taehee (53), Santi Cazorla (77) and Rodrgio Tabata (91) scored for the winners who sealed the title in dominant passion.
In the absence of a number of key Qatari players, who have joined the national team which left for Turkey ahead of their friendly match against Ghana, coach Xavi decided to field four foreign stars in yesterday's title clash.
South Koreans Jung Wooyoung and Tae-hee, Brazilian Guilherme and Spaniard Cazorla were given the task of strengthening the Wolves as Al Sadd excelled against Al Arabi.
Tae-Hee made his presence felt right from the start. He almost scored, only to see his effort thwarted by Al Arabi keeper Mahmoud Abunada. Al Arabi striker Hamdi Harbaoui then hit the crossbar with a shot from outside the box.
In the 17th minute, Al Sadd opened the account to take lead. Tae-hee delivered a clever pass to Abdurisag and the young Qatari got past the Al Arabi keeper to open account.
After the break, in the 53rd minute, Tae-hee received a through pass from Cazorla and the 2017 QFA Player of the Year doubled their lead with a curling shot into the bottom corner.
Spaniard Cazorla then got on the scoresheet after picking up a loose ball inside the box from Yousuf to add the third goal for Al Sadd.
Tabata then sealed the 4-0 win in style in the stoppage time as he struck a powerful shot from distance that left the Al Arabi keeper and the rest of their players stunned.
Goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham, who stepped into the shoes of Saad Al Sheeb, who is on national duty, savoured the win.
“I congratulate the players and the fans for this victory, as the triumph came after a great effort on the part of all the players. We were successful in the match and we were able to do what was required. Winning the title is a great boost for the morale of the players after the defeat in the Champions League and the difficult stage the team went through after the coronavirus crisis. We have the spirit to give our best in the upcoming tournaments as well,” Meshaal said after the match.
The title victory took Al Sadd's trophy tally to 72 and this is the second time in the history that the club has won this title, after previously triumphing in the 2010-11 season, under the tournament’s old name, the Qatar Stars Cup.
