DOHA: President of the Qatar Olympic Committee HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani crowned the Al Wakrah team champions of the Qatar Football Cup after defeating Al Rayyan 1-0 in the final at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, on Saturday.
Al Wakrah was able to win the first title in its history in the tournament that began in the 1994-1995 season under the name of the Crown Prince Cup before the name changed to the Qatar Cup as of the 2013-2014 season.
Al Wakrah owes the credit for achieving the title to player Nasser Al Yazidi, who scored the winning goal and the only goal of the match in the 80th minute.
The course of the first half saw a clear advantage from Al Wakrah, which imposed its style through high pressure in the opponent’s areas.
On the other hand, Al Rayyan appeared modest in the offensive aspect and lacked any danger with the control imposed by the Al Wakrah defence on former Brazilian Corinthians striker Roger Guedich.
It started with an attempt sent by Brazilian Roger Guedish into the area, but Al Rayyan goalkeeper Fahad Younis saved the situation and converted his ball into a corner kick in the fourth minute.
Former English Wimbledon player Ayoub Assal gave Al Wakra the lead after he took advantage of a pass from Egyptian international Hamdi Fathi perfectly, but the video assistant referee cancelled the goal in the ninth minute.
Al Wakra provided accurate passes, before the ball reached Ayoub Assal, who passed to Mohamed Bin Yatto, but the Algerian player’s shot was blocked by Al Rayyan goalkeeper Fahd Younis in the 26th minute.
While Al Wakra celebrated scoring the first goal through Algerian Mohamed Bin Yatto, the video assistant referee intervened again to cancel the goal due to offside in the 28th minute.
Al Rayyan retreated as the pressure from Al Wakrah players intensified. Jacinto Dala was able to evade the markinginside the penalty area, and the Angolan striker shot it over the crossbar without succeeding in breaking the goalless tie that dominated the end of the first half.
In the second half, Al Wakrah maintained its balance and continued to play between the lines, relying on the incursions of the front-line trio, while Al Rayyan's defence was trying to rely on its balance in the back lines and reverse runs to penetrate the opponent's defensive wall, which tightly monitored the keys to Al Rayyan's offensive play.
Portuguese Leonardo Jardim decided to resort to some changes in the midfield by bringing in Hazem Ahmed and Brazilian Gabriel Pereira in place of Ahmed Al Menhali and Ashraf Bin Sharqi in the 78th minute.
While Al Rayyan was busy organising its ranks in the middle, substitute Nasser Al Yazidi took advantage of the situation and gave Al Wakrah the lead with a smart follow-up inside the area that fooled Al Rayyan goalkeeper Fahd Younis in the 80th minute.
Al Rayyan felt the awkwardness of the situation, so it intensified its attacks to adjust the balance and had the opportunity through former New York City American player Gabriel Pereira, who shot a ball into the penalty spot, but Al Wakrah goalkeeper Mohammed Al Bakri saved the ball brilliantly.
Pereira returned to send an arching ball into the area, but it deflected past Al Wakrah's goalkeeper.
Al Wakrah had advanced to the final of the tournament after defeating Al Sadd in the semi-finals on penalties (5-4) after a 2-2 draw in normal time, while Al Rayyan qualified after defeating Al Gharafa by two goals to one.
