By Rizwan Rehmat
DOHA: Gutsy Lekhwiya yesterday scripted a dramatic fightback to win their maiden Emir Cup title after a penalty shootout against hosts Al Sadd at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Lekhwiya scored all of their four penalties after both sides ended 2-2 in regulation time.
Nam Tae-hee scored the decisive penalty after team-mates Alain Dioko, Luiz Martin and Chico Flores fired home with ease
Al Sadd’s Khalfan Ibrahim and Nadir Belhadj missed their spot kicks to see Lekhwiya seal a 4-2 win in the penalty shootout.
Earlier, Baghdad Bounedjah (62) and Abdulkareem Hassan (67) scored for the home side that was aiming to complete a hat-trick of Emir Cup title wins.
However, Lekhwiya saw Flores (70) and Nam (77) produced two second-half goals to force a penalty shootout to decide the winner.
After a few short electric passing from both sides, Lekhwiya’s Dioko broke free of his marker Morteza Mohammedjan and took aim at the Al Sadd goalkeeper who parried the ball away.
In the 8th minute, Al Sadd managed a breakaway move through Hassan Al Haydos who charged towards the Lekhwiya goal. Lekhwiya’s goalkeeper Lacoumet Amin charged out of the his comfort zone and when Al Haydos chipped the ball in the air, the former produced a spectacular diving punch to clear the ball away for a corner.
In the 15th minute, Al Sadd’s Pedro Miguel was seemingly brought down by the Lekhwiya’s Khalid Muftah but the referee waved play on.
Seconds later, Pedro clipped a ball for Belhadj who shot wildly to end a threatening move.
Two minutes later, Al Sadd strike force was once again all over Lekhwiya like a rash but the visitors thwarted another goal-scoring threat. Baghdad Bounedjah slipped past two defenders before slipping the ball to an umarked Al Hadyos who failed to collect the ball with only goalkeeper Amine to beat.
In the 18th minute, goalkeeper outran Bounedjah and charged way out of the box to clear the ball that could have proved dangerous for Lekhwiya.
A couple of minutes later, Lekhwiya’s Musa Mohammed was slapped with a yellow card for bringing down Qatar’s Under-13 captain and Al Sadd star Abdulkaeem Hassan.
The stoppage caused a bit of a delay to what was fast becoming a feisty contest between the two side.
In the 30th minute, defender Hassan jumped high for a corner kick but his snap-header missed the Lekhwiya goal post narrowly.
Four minutes later, Belmadi replaced Musa with Ismail Mohammed. Musa, who brought down Hassan, was hurt in the process resulting in a free-kick.
Barca legend Xavi curled in a beautiful free-kick that missed the Lekhwiya goalpost by a few inches.
Two minutes from the first-half whistle, Lekhwiya striker Dioko fired a hurriedly taken shot that sailed away without causing harm as jaded legs started to give way to clumsy football.
Four minutes into the second half, Lekhwiya’s Karim Boudiaf aimed for a long-range from the edge of the Al Sadd but his shot was flicked away home goalkeeper Saad Al Dosari.
Three minutes later, Al Sadd’s Hassan tried a similar shot which also missed its target much to the disappointment of the home fans.
At the one-hour mark, Al Sadd’s Pedro blocked a ferocious shot from Dioko that hit the home side’s defender and the ball flew away for a corner. A minute later, Xavi unleashed a powerful long-range shot that swung and sailed above the Lekhwiya crossbar.
Seconds later, Ferreira brought in Ibrahim in place of Ali Asadallah in the 62nd minute.
After scores of runs, Al Sadd’s quick-mover Bounedjah scored the first goal in the 63rd minute, the first of four in the next 14 minutes.
The Algerian forward deflected a a smartly-placed pass past Lekhwiya goalkeeper Amine despite being shadowed by Flores in his own box.
Five minutes later, Hassan produced a well-taken snap-header from close range on a free-kick to give Al Sadd a 2-0 cushion.
Al Sadd barely settled down after scoring their second goal when Flores headed home from close range off a corner kick to reduce the deficit in the 70th minute.
Flores got a cut also above his left eye in the process.
Flores came back with a bandaged head and produced another snap-header which was picked up by Al Sadd goalkeeper Amine in the 75th minute.
Lekhwiya’s Korean import and vastly experienced Nam curled in a stunning shot from the edge of Lekhwiya box to produce the equaliser in the 77th minute.
Goals:
Al Sadd 2 Baghdad Bounedjah (62) and Abdulkareem Hassan (67)
Lekhwiya 2 Chico Flores (70) Nam Tae-hee (77)
The Peninsula
