Al Ahli win Qatar Cup for a fairytale comeback

Al Ahli players celebrate with Qatar Handball Association president Ahmad Mohamed al-Shaabi and other officials after winning the Qatar Handball Cup yesterday. In yesterday’s final, Ahli beat Lekhwiya in a throw-off to lift the title. PICTURE: Mamdouh

By Joe Koraith/Doha

Nothing makes for better movie scripts than sports. And yesterday’s Qatar Handball Cup final between Lekhwiya and Al Ahli has all the makings of a blockbuster movie. In the end, it was Ahli who walked away victorious with the Qatar Cup after defeating Lekhwiya 5-4 in a throw-off (the handball version of a football penalty shootout) after the two teams ended on 35-35 at the end of extra time.

Ahli goalkeeper Sayed Sadek saved the shot from Lekhwiya skipper Hekal al-Haidi to finally end the deadlock and give his team a victory that was denied to them twice during the match yesterday.

The final which was played at the Al Gharafa stadium yesterday had two teams with contrasting backgrounds.

The Lekhwiya handball team was formed only two years back and they ended up winning the league title then. And this year though they ended up third in the league, they were looking to win their first-ever Qatar Cup.

Ahli on the other hand, were the club with the history. Once a powerhouse, they were on the decline for the last few years. But last year they hired Nasser al-Saad, a former player, as their coach. And since then they have been attempting their comeback into the glory days. To put things into perspective, the last time Ahli reached the final was six years ago - in 2008. They had won the title then but faded away after that. This season Ahli managed only seventh in the standings.

So yesterday’s match was between a new team trying to establish their supremacy and a former great trying to regain glory. And Ahli completed the fairytale comeback by winning the Qatar Cup.

But they could have almost lost it. It was a keenly and evenly contested affair throughout the match. You could count, on a single hand, the number of instances either side got themselves a two-point lead. At the end of half-time, Ahli found themselves ahead 14-12. The scoring pattern continued till 10 minutes into the second half which is when Lekhwiya managed to get into the lead for the first time with the score at 19-17. But their lead was short-lived and Ahli drew level soon. After that both teams were on par till the 48th minute when Ahli went into the lead. And by the 50th minute Ahli had taken a two-point lead with the score at 25-23.

Lekhwiya were trying hard to draw level but Ahli always found the back of the net during their attack and thus maintaining the lead. Lekhwiya then reduced the deficit to one point but they simply couldn’t get the equaliser. And Ahli too were missing their chances. With just three minutes left on the clock, Ahli got a penalty but their skipper Davor Cutura missed. And then after missing three chances, Lekhwiya finally drew level through a last-second goal by Wajdi Sinel. Ahli players were left distraught after missing so many chances in the closing minutes.

Ten minutes of extra time followed with five-minute halves. Instead of the Ahli players being deflated by that last-second goal, they came back strongly and finished the first half of extra-time with a three-point lead, 31-28. But again, just like in the regulation time, Lekhwiya managed to close the gap and a last-minute steal by their skipper al-Haidi saw him pass the ball to Abdulla Hafeez who scored the equaliser. The Ahli players protested that the time was up but the score stood and Lekhwiya seemed like they had pulled off another rabbit out of the bag by drawing level.

But in the throw-off Lekhwiya keeper, Yousuf al-Maalen, who had had a great match so far, producing many saves, couldn’t stop any of the shots and the miss by al-Haidi saw Lekhwiya finally defeated. It was a story of an almost hero for the Lekhwiya skipper, who had created the last-second equaliser.

Ahli players celebrated wildly after the save, knowing that they had managed to wrestle the trophy from Lekhiwya, who fought till the end.

“It was a tough match. We fought till the end. We deserved to win,” said Ahli skipper Cutura after the match.

And Ahli coach al-Saad was seeing hugging all his players and celebrating with them, knowing that his team was back where it belonged. “It was a difficult season for us because we had a lot of injuries to deal with. But we have won the title. That is an amazing achievement and hopefully it’s the first of many titles to come,” said the proud coach.

How’s that for a blockbuster movie script?