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| TOP OF THE WORLD: Victorious Al Rayyan team pose with their trophy after beating Al Sadd in the Heir Apparent Cup final here at the Al-Gharafa Stadium yesterday. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil |
Al Rayyan edged Al Sadd on penalties to win the Heir Apparent Cup for the fourth time in front of a packed house at Gharafa Sports Club yesterday.
After a pulsating 90 minutes that ended in a 1-1 stalemate, Al Rayyan scored from all their five shots to clinch a 5-4 victory to extend Al Sadd’s barren domestic run since 2008 when they won the tournament for a record fifth time.
Former Asian Player of the Year Khalfan Ibrahim gave Al Sadd a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute only for Jarallah al-Marri to equalise in second half added time much to the relief of Al Rayyan coach Diego Aguirre on his first assignment outside his native Uruguay.
In a way it was unfortunate for Al Sadd that a cracker of a match had to end in a penalty shootout, especially because goalkeeper Mohamed Saqr had produced a thoroughly professional performance to keep Al Rayyan’s marauding forwards at bay in regulation.
But in a cruel twist of fate Saqr couldn’t come up with a single save in the tie-breaker, while his Al Rayyan counterpart, Omar Barry, managed to deflect a Mohamed al-Yazeedi shot which was enough for “The Lions” to win the tournament afer a 11-year jinx.
“This is a great victory for the boys. They played gallantly and never gave up after conceding the lead to Al Sadd,” Aguirre told reporters. “I cannot single out any player, everybody played their part. They showed they had the mentality to play on the big stage. They were motivated,” added the Uruguayan.
Aguirre had said in his pre-match interview that he was not under any pressure going into his first final in his debut season, but on yesterday’s evidence that was clearly not the case.
The 46-year-old former Penarol striker was certainly tense, a variety of emotions playing on his face as his players regularly put the Al Sadd defence under pressure and came agonisingly close to scoring on several occasions.
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| JUBILANT: Al Rayyan players celebrate after winning the finals against Al Sadd in the Heir Apparent Cup tournament at Al-Gharafa Stadium yesterday. Al-Rayyan won 5-4 in penalty shootout |
Rodrigo Tabata, who was doubtful for the final after suffering an injury during Al Rayyan’s semi-final against El Jaish, made a surprise recovery and played a stellar role in the match, playing the full 90 minutes.
As early as in the ninth minute Tabata was well-positioned inside the box when a rebound off Saqr from a shot taken by Murad Naji fell his way, but the Brazilian blazed over the post.
Moments later an Afonso Alves strike was brilliantly saved by Saqr as Al Rayyan managed to dominate the early exchanges.
However, Al Sadd gradually found their groove and began threatening the Al Rayyan defence with Khalfan and Nadir Belhadj combining well up front.
And sure enough they came close to scoring in the 16th minute when Khalfan produced a blistering 35-yard run down the middle and outpaced two Al Rayyan players, but goalkeeper
Barry was alive to the situation and brought off a fine save.
Al Rayyan had a lucky escape in the 29th minute when a header by Al Sadd skipper Abdulla Kone scraped the crosspiece, but five minutes later Fossati’s side heaved a sigh of relief as Daniel Goumou missed what was easily the best chance of the match.
The Guinean-born Goumou, a product of Qatar’s prestigious Aspire Academy, was perfectly placed inside the Al Sadd penalty area to receive a Fabio Cesar cross from the left, but with Saqr totally at his mercy, he shot wide from point-blank range. Goumou vented his frustration by pounding the turf several times with his fists.
There was high drama in the 57th minute when Tabata found the net, but Alves, who had passed the ball to him, was ruled offside, a decision which Al Rayyan were not too pleased with.
Al Rayyan were still smarting from the disallowed goal when their defence was caught napping as Niang made off with the ball after receiving a long diagonal pass from Nasser Nabil and crossed to Khalfan who found the net from six yards with a sliding shot to give
Al Sadd the lead in the 59th minute.Both teams misssed several chances after that, but just when it appeared that the Cup was Al Sadd’s to keep, Tabata produced a brilliant free-kick for substitute Jarallah al-Marri to rise over the Al Sadd defence and score with a glancing header.
In the tie-breaker, Khalfan, Ibrahim Majid, Abdulkhader Keita and Belhadj scored for Al Sadd, while al-Yazeedi’s shot was saved by Barry.
For Al Rayyan, Tabata, Cesar, Nathan, Hamid Ismail and Alves all scored to complete a memorable evening for their fans.
His Highness the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani gave away the Cup to the winners. Players, coaches and staff of both teams were also feted on the occasion.