Al Sadd players celebrate their win over Al Rayyan in the Qatar Cup at Al Sadd Stadium in Doha yesterday.
DOHA: Hosts Al Sadd yesterday won a heart-stopping penalty shootout against Al Rayyan to reach the final of Qatar Cup after both sides ended regulation time at 2-2.
Coached by Jesualdo Ferreira, Al Sadd won 6-4 after all four of their players hit the net in the penalty shootout. For Al Rayyan, star strikers Sebastian Soria and Rodrigo Tabata missed with their spot kicks allowing the home side to emerge convincing winners in the feisty contest.
Earlier, Akram Afif (20) and Hamid Ismail (29) scored the goals for Al Sadd while tireless Mohsine Moutaouali (43) and Tabata (81) were on target for Al Rayyan as both teams fought hard in the 90 minutes at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
For Al Sadd, Hassan Al Haydos, Bualem Khoukhi, Hamroun Jugurtha and Baghdad Bounedjah scored the goals in the penalty shootout. Myongin Koh and Gonzalo Viera scored for Al Rayyan in the spot kick drama.
“It was a great match. I thank God for this honour. I must say Al Rayyan played extremely well,” Al Haydos said after the pulsating clash.
“We look forward to producing another strong performance in the final,” the Qatar national team star added.
After an initial attack on Al Rayyan goal by the home side and a wasted free-kick by the visitors, the match referee flashed a yellow card on Koh who brought down Pedro Miguel with a rough tackle near the touch line in just the 5th minute. Seconds later, Miguel rammed his knee into the back of Moutaouali, causing another interruption in play.
In the 12th minute, Al Sadd’s young forward Afif unleashed a powerful shot from close to the Al Rayyan box but the low shot was deflected off the leg of an Al Rayyan defender.
Seconds later, Bounedjah’s clip from close range was palmed away by Al Rayyan goalkeeper Omar Barry as Al Sadd increased the attacks on the backline of the visitors.
In the 17th minute, Bounedjah once again swiveled his way past three defenders but his shot from the edge of the Al Rayyan box missed the goalpost by a very narrow margin.
In the 20th minute, relentless Al Sadd grabbed the lead. Al Haydos blocked a slow pass from Al Rayyan’s Koh close to his own box. Al Haydos slipped the ball to Barca great Xavi who tapped the cross for Afif.
The Qatar U-23 star - positioned unmarked on the edge of the Al Rayyan box - fired a low ball that swung as it reached the goalmouth before smashing into the net despite goalkeeper Barry’s full-length dive. It was Afif’s 4th goal of the current season with Al Sadd senior outfit.
Clearly Al Sadd dominated the passage of play in the first 20 minutes, maintaining 66 percent of the ball possession against just 34 percent by Al Rayyan.
In the 26th minute, Al Sadd’s Abdulkareem Hassan fired a powerful shot from the edge of the box that was spectacularly palmed away by keeper Barry as Al Rayyan thwarted yet another attack.
A minute later, Al Rayyan skipper and striker Tabata was shown a yellow card for ‘diving’ inside Al Sadd box.
A minute later, Al Sadd jumped to a 2-0 lead after Ismail ran almost the entire distance from the half-line and slipped the ball into the net after being chased by defender Mohammed Juma in the 29th minute.
Five minutes from the first-half whistle, Moutaouali clipped a high ball for striker Soria who went for the snap-header but the deflection went a little wide in one of the best chances for the visitors to score.
However, three minutes later Moutaouali scored for Al Rayyan from close range, slipping the ball past keeper Saad Abdulla Al Dosari following a neat cross from Tabata. It was Moutaouali’s fifth goal of the season.
Four minutes into the second half, Hassan slipped in a neat cross for Xavi inside the Al Rayyan box. Without wasting a second’s time, Xavi clipped the ball but keeper Barry picked up the deflection from close range.
At the one-hour mark, Bounedjah hoodwinked a couple of Al Rayyan defenders but his shot from close range narrowly missed the goalpost with keeper Barry rooted to his spot.
In the 70th minute, Al Rayyan skipper Tabata headed from close range but the effort was declared off-side after the referee referred for the use of VAR. Eleven minutes later, Tabata deflected a neat ball past Al Dosari to score the much-needed equaliser for Al Rayyan.
However, Al Sadd remained calm enough to win the heart-stopping penalty shootout.
