An official picks Al Duhail during the Amir Cup 2020 Draw Ceremony which took place at the JW Marriott Marquis City Center Doha, yesterday. Picture: Anvar Sadath
Doha: Former champions Al Rayyan who are looking for their first silverware of the season will take on second division outfit Al Markhiya in the Amir Cup quarter-final, the draw revealed yesterday.
The draw also showed that a potential blockbuster semi-final clash between defending champions Al Duhail and Al Sadd is also on the cards.
Al Rayyan’s bid to reach the final of the prestigious tournament got a shot in the arm thanks in large measure to the draw with coach Diego Aguirre’s side getting a relatively easy draw while avoiding both Al Duhail and Al Sadd in the quarter-final and semi-final stage.
Aguirre’s side, which crashed out in the play-off stage of the AFC Champions League group stage, will be looking to put that disappointment behind them when they take on rank outsiders Al Markhiya in the last eight stage of the tournament.
Al Rayyan's Manager Omar Al Azani said they will hopefully play in the final and they are not taking Al Markhiya lightly.
“Yes, Al Markhiya played very well against Al Gharafa and they won. We cannot take any chances against them. We hope to make it to the final but before that we have to cross quarter-final and then the semi-final hurdles," said Al Azani, when asked about the upcoming clash against the second division side.
Al Markiya pulled off the biggest upset of this year’s Amir Cup when they defeated Al Gharafa 1-0 to make it to the last eight stage of the tournament, the only second division side to come that far.
On the other hand, a brace from Yohan Boli and goals from Khaled Muftah and Rodrigo Tabata helped Al Rayyan coast to an emphatic 4-0 win over second division side Mesaimeer in the pre-quarter-finals.
A positive result against another second division side will see Al Rayyan taking on the winner of the Hilal Derby between Al Arabi and Al Ahli.
Al Arabi SC, which made a splendid turnaround to down Al Khor 4-3 in penalties to advance to the quarter-finals, will be looking to extend the good run against arch rivals Al Ahli.
At one point in the pre-quarter-finals, Al Arabi were trailing by two goals against Al Khor but covered a lot of ground to draw level and take the match into the penalty shoot-out. Al Ahli on the other hand made it to the next stage defeating Qatar SC 2-1.
Yesterday’s draw pits Al Sadd against Al Wakrah while Al Duhail will square up to Al Sailiyah.
The winners of the two matches will clash in the semi-finals, the dates and venues will be decided in the coming days.
Al Sadd team manager Abdullah Al Briek said there were no easy matches ahead and they are ready for the challenge.
“To win the Amir Cup, you should be ready for all the teams. We respect all our rivals but we have won this trophy the maximum number of times and are keen to win it again,” Al Briek said after the draw ceremony.
Al Sadd thrashed Al Kharaitiyat 3-1 to advance to the elite tournament while Al Wakrah edged Al Shahania 10-9 in sudden death to move ahead. Al Duhail on the other hand defeated second division side Muaither SC 4-0 to make it to the next stage and Al Sailiya defeated Umm Salal 2-1 to book a place in the quarter-finals.
The Amir Cup final will be played on May 15.
