By Sports Reporter/Doha
Sport is lot about skill, but it’s lot more about confidence. You need to believe that you can win and that is what Lekhwiya exhibited yesterday as they defeated El Jaish 1-0 to lift the 2015 Qatar Cup.
That they had made t-shirts with the Qatar Cup logo and ‘Champions’ printed on it was kind of a give-away that Lekhwiya were confident going into the final. And, who else, but their poster boy – Sebastian Soria - to provide the winning goal.
Lekhwiya did have a bit of baggage going into this match though. They have won the Qatar Stars League title four times in the past five years but in the Cup competitions their record hasn’t been that great. And this result will go a long way in silencing those who were questioning their credentials in knockout competitions.
This was a repeat of last season’s Qatar Cup final but it was Jaish who had emerged victorious back then on penalties. Yesterday’s match was a closely fought affair. It ended with both teams on equal footing in most crucial aspects of the game. Both teams had exactly 50 per cent possession in the end. The shots on target were the same – five apiece. Both the goalkeepers produced three saves each. In the end it all came down to Soria’s goal, a dodgy one, one must say because he looked offside.
The match started on a tentative note with both teams looking to not concede any early goal. This meant that there was a lot of focus on keeping the ball. The encounter burst into life only in the 12th minute when Jaish enjoyed a period of sustained dominance inside the Lekhwiya box.
Lekhwiya responded with an incisive counter attack and nearly scored two minutes later. The tall striker was unmarked during a corner and he headed the ball into the far corner only for Jaish defender Yousuf Muftah to clear it off the line.
In the 17th minute Jaish missed what was their best chance of the match. It began with a failed Lekhwiya attack and Jaish attacked on the counter. Mohamed Muntari send in a great through ball towards Magid Mohamed. Lekhwiya had two defenders - Ahmed Yasser and Khalid Muftah – both chasing the ball and they ended up colliding and the ball fell to Magid who gave a clever back pass to Mohamed Abdulla, who fired in a low shot but Lekhwiya keeper Claude Amin was able to palm it off. Jaish coach Sabri Lamouchi was left shaking his head in frustration.
The 25th minute saw Lekhwiya get a huge chance to take the lead. Chico Flores sent a great through pass to Ali Hassan who crossed into the centre of the box only to see Jaish defender Abdurahman Abakar clear it for a corner.
The first half ended with Soria almost scoring the opening goal when he got a through pass (yes, another one of those) but his first-time effort was saved by the Jaish keeper. It was off target anyway.
The match could be called an end-to-end affair with both team making regular forays into each other’s territory but neither side can lay claim to any sort of dominance. The second half too followed a similar tone. The first exciting moment in the second half was an unnecessary one when Jaish keeper Saoud al?Khater, on receiving a back pass, decided to dodge two Lekhwiya players – Soria and Ismail Mohamed before clearing it safely. Showed quite a bit of dribbling talent for a goalkeeper but could have been risky.
Five minutes later, there was action at the other end when Soria got a loose ball inside the box and his shot was just wide of the far post.
With neither side able to find a breakthrough it was time to shake things up. And Jaish were the first team to get a substitution done when they took off Mohamed Muntari and brought on Yasir Abu Baker. Muntari had produced a lot of clever touches in the match but couldn’t force a result.
Lekhiwya then took off Ali Hassan Yahia and brought in their talented winger Vladimir Weiss in the 71st minute and it was his pace that led to the goal. In the 79th minute, the Slovakian was brought down by Magid and the referee gave a free kick. Nam Tae-Hee took the free kick and he sent in a great cross into the box, straight into Soria who produced a header that hit the arm of the Jaish keeper and went in. Soria looked offside but the flag stayed down and the goal was given.
In the 82nd minute Jaish had a chance to get an equalizer when Aboobacker Essa freed Wagner Ribeiro with a through pass but Lekhwiya keeper Amin came off his line to block the shot effectively. Jaish had a couple of chances later on when they went on an all-out attack in the final minutes of the game but the back of the net eluded them.
Soria was declared the man of the match for his winning goal which helped Lekhwiya lift the 2015 Qatar Cup and, more importantly, ensure that those t-shirts that they printed didn’t go waste.
Lekhwiya team celebrates.
