Muntari shines as Duhail set up Amir Cup final against Al Sadd

Two of Qatar’s top teams will clash for the Amir Cup title after Al Duhail saw off Al Sailiya 3-0 in the second semi-final yesterday to join Al Sadd in the decider set for Thursday.Mohamed Muntari scored in the seventh and 65th minutes, while Edmilson slotted home in the 27th as Al Duhail made light work of the opposition at the Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.Al Sadd had won the QNB Stars League title in April with Al Duhail finishing a close second, while Al Sailiya and Al Rayyan took the third and fourth spot respectively.The outcome of both the semi-final matches in the Amir Cup thus ensured status quo as far as the top four teams on the domestic circuit are concerned, with Al Sailiya and Al Rayyan once again losing out in their quest for a domestic title.The Amir Cup is Al Duhail’s last chance to win some domestic silverware this season as the Qatar Football Association decided not to hold the Qatar Cup this summer owing to the national team’s international commitments, which include the Cope America next month.That was motivation enough for Al Duhail who hit the ground running and tested the Al Sailiya defence twice within the first five minutes.They didn’t have to wait too long to open their account, though, with Muntari volleying home past Al Sailiya goalkeeper Saoud al-Khater in the seventh minute after the ball deflected off the “wall” following a 23-yard free-kick by Bassam al-Rawi.Al Sailiya tried hard to recover from the early shock, but to no avail as they failed to create any clear-cut chances, although Abdulqadir Ilyas proved a constant threat to the Al Duhail defence.Al Duhail soon consolidated when Almoez Ali worked his way up front on the left flank and crossed for Muntari inside the penalty area.Muntari, however, let the ball pass deftly under his feet to fox the defence and Edmilson’s cracking left-foot shot beat goalkeeper al-Khater all ends up as he ended up diving the wrong way.Al Duhail took a comfortable 2-0 cushion into half-time and there was no way they were going to let the advantage slip by.And sure enough they continued to dominate proceedings before Muntari found himself in perfect position to strike again from close after Ali Hassan Afif had done all the spadework on the left flank and crossed into the box.Al Duhail missed at least three more chances but they were not complaining as they get to defend their title at the new brand Al Wakrah Stadium in four days’ time.