Substitute Nasser al-Yazidi’s strike helped Al Wakrah beat Al Rayyan 1-0 in the final to emerge Qatar Cup champions on Saturday. At the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, al-Yazidi came off the bench to score the only goal in the 80th minute as The Blue Wave emerged champions in their first attempt at reaching the final of the prestigious tournament since it was renamed in 2014. Wakrah had won the competition formerly known as the Heir Apparent’s Cup in 1999.The highly-entertaining final was full of thrills and glamour right from the onset, with the 8,163-strong capacity crowd adding much fervour to the excitement.Al Wakrah coach Ali Rahma al-Marri said he and his team were ‘delighted to win the Qatar Cup. He said: “We deserved to win the title. We gave our best in the final. The players gave their hundred percent and all the decisions we made were aimed at producing this result, and we are delighted to win this tournament. It’s an outcome of sheer hardwork from the entire Al Wakrah team which includes our technical staff and all the other staff.”Al Wakrah appeared to have got an early lead in the ninth minute when Ayoub Assal found the back of the net with a low right-footed shot following a defence-splitting pass by Rabeh Yahia, but the goal was, however, stood down after a lengthy VAR check for offside.Undaunted by the denial, Al Wakrah continued to mount pressure on Al Rayyan, who were pegged inside their own half of the field for most part of the first half, and The Blue Wave were very close to scoring in the 20th minute following an impressive overlapping run by captain Mohamed Benyettou, if not for the calculated intervention of Shogo Taniguchi, who blocked what could have been an amazing solo goal.Benyettou almost registered a goal again in the 26th minute with a sublime backheel flick, but Al Rayyan goalkeeper Fahad Younes read the situation well as he parried the ball for a corner kick. Benyettou had another goal disallowed three minutes later after netting the rebound of Jacinto Dala’s header that hit the upright following a goalmouth scramble from a corner kick. The goal was denied, after a lengthy VAR check, for offside, much to the disappointment of Al Wakrah fans, who were visibly upset by the decision.Al Wakrah kept the momentum, with most of the chances falling to them, with goalkeeper Younes being called upon quite often, while Al Rayyan’s scoring opportunities were quite few and in between.Al Wakrah continued from where they stopped on the resumption of second half, with their forwards causing a series of headaches for the Al Rayyan defensive line-up. The game became more interesting as the clock ticked on and Al Wakrah goalkeeper Mohammed Al Bakri’s quick response in the 64th minute prevented what could have been a stunning goal from Rodrigo Tabata, who had only the goalkeeper to beat in a one-on-one situation.Al Wakrah’s sustained efforts eventually paid off in the 80th minute through substitute al-Yazidi, who came in for Khalid Ali Sabah in the 76th minute, as he was well-positioned to finish off another defence-splitting pass from Dala with a low right-footed drive, which the on-rushing goalkeeper Younes had no answer for it.With the goal, Al Wakrah became more aggressive upfront in an attempt to consolidate their lead, while Al Rayyan also upped their game as they searched for the equalizer. But, as much as The Lions tried, Al Wakrah’s defence remained impenetrable, with goalkeeper Al Bakri making series of daring saves before the referee finally signalled the end of the encounter.
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