Wakrah stun Sadd to set up maiden final against Rayyan

Al Wakrah knocked out Al Sadd after winning the Qatar Cup semi-final on penalties to set up final against Al Rayyan. Wakrah staged a stoppage-time comeback for a 2-2 draw at full time at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium yesterday.This is the first time that Al Wakrah have made it to the final of Qatar Cup, and on their second successive appearance in the prestigious tournament. Omar Ali, who took the sixth spot kick for Al Wakrah, and Jacinto Dala, who helped his side draw parity at 2-2 with a top class goal, were the heroes for The Blue Wave which battled both Sadd and a heavy downpour to seal their place in the final.While Lucas Mendes failed to strike first up during the shootout for Al Wakrah, Boaulem Khoukhi and Mohamed Waad missed for Al Sadd. Rayyan came back from a goal down to defeat Al Gharafa 2-1 in the second semi-final at the Khalifa International Stadium. Achraf Bencharki netted both goals in the 79th and 87th minutes, respectively, after Seydou Sano had given Gharafa the lead in the 63rd minute.Earlier, Sadd seemed to be running away with the game as they led 2-0 at half time with Akram Afif (12th minute) and Gonzalo Plata (27th minute) scoring for them. A fighting Wakrah however chased down The Wolves as Ayoub Assal first struck in the 73rd minute, and Jacinto Dala scored a brilliant goal in added time (90+3 minute).Wakrah launched themselves into the clash with attacking play in the second half which saw both sides miss some scoring chances. In the 50th minute, Wakrah’s Mohamed Benyettou’s diagonal kick just went past the left post while six minutes later, Dala also hit wide after being in front of the goal.In the 66th minute, Benyettou made a superb cross but Nasser al-Yazidi’s header went just over the crossbar. Wakrah’s hard efforts bore fruits soon with Assal initiating a move and himself moving down the box before three players combined in getting the ball back to him to make the telling strike (2-1).In the 75th minute, it began to rain and following a robust counter-move Wakrah were in the striking range again but Benyettou couldn’t get a good hold on his kick which went just off the right post.In the 87th minute, Wakrah heaved a sigh of relief when a penalty decision (after goalkeeper Mohamed al-Bakri ran in to avert an Afif attempt) was overruled after a VAR check. It wasn’t long before Dala dashed in from the left to make a sublime strike from outside the box which saw the ball hit both the crossbar and the inside right post before rushing in (2-2).With shootout enforced soon after full time, Omar Ali, who was substituted replacing Assal in the 89th minute, turned out to be a match-winner for Wakrah. While Hassan al-Haydos, Matius Uribe, Gonzalo Plata and Afif were on target for Al Sadd, Benyettou, Lucas Sainsbury, Hamdy Fathi, Rabeh Boussafi and Ali scored for Al Wakrah.Bencharki brace powersRayyan to finalEarlier, Bencharki brace helped Rayyan to final. After a strong opening, Rayyan suffered an injury blow, with Thiago Mendes having to limp off the field in the 11th minute following a possible hamstring injury suffered while attempting to make a pass. The Brazilian was replaced by Rodrigo Tabata. Gharafa’s Ahmed Alaaeldin had a brilliant opportunity to give his side the lead in the 55th minute but his shot was brilliantly parried out for a corner kick by goalkeeper Fahad Younes. With sustained pressure from the coach Pedro Martins’ men, Rayyan’s defence eventually gave way in the 63rd minute, with Sano capitalizing on goalkeeper Younes’s mishandling of a high ball from Yacine Brahimi to nod home the opening goal. The goal was, however, subjected to a VAR review, which ended up being sustained.Rayyan got back to work in search of the equaliser which came their way in the 79th minute through an unmarked Bencharki, who effortlessly nodded home a corner kick from Tabata. Al Gharafa thought they have restored their lead in the 82nd minute, once again through Alaaeldin, but it was ruled out by VAR for handball in the build-up to the goal.Five minutes later, Al Rayyan took the lead, with Bencharki taking advantage of a poor clearance by goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar to rifle home a right-footed thunderbolt of a shot that sent their teeming fans into wide jubilation.