(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Two goals by Brazilian Luis 'Muriqui' Silva - one in each half - yesterday helped defending champions Al Sadd crush El Jaish 2-1 and retain the Emir Cup.
Yesterday playing at the home stadium Al Sadd came up with a clinical finishes to emerge on top in the season-ending championship of the 2014-15 season and win the Emir Cup for the 15th time.
Silva, who is popularly known as Muriqui, struck in the very second minute for his first goal and added the second one in the 76th minute.
El Jaish pulled one back in injury time through Romarinho, but it came too to make an impact on the final result of 2-1.
The final at Al Sadd Stadium, watched by Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Al Sadd begin with a flourish.
Hardly had the spectators taken to the seats when Al Sadd struck taking full toll on a sloppy piece of defending.
El Jaish player Wisam Rizq lost ball possession to Al Sadd captain Talal Al Bloushi and the last named sped his way deep into the El Jaish territory and set up Silva to break through the rival defense, which he did with ease shooting past a diving El Jaish keeper.
Thereafter, El Jaish tried to secure the equaliser and came close to scoring a few occasions through set pieces but could not find success.
Al Sadd on the other hand consolidated the lead in the 76th minute with Muriqui latching on the loose ball.
The former Brazil Under-20 international shot home past a helpless El Jaish keeper to score his second goal of the match.
El Jaish thereafter pressed hard but success eluded them and it was only in injury time they finally managed to get one past the Al Sadd keeper with Romarinho adding his name on the scorers list.
Al Sadd striker Hassan Al Haydos termed his team's performance against El Jaish memorable, saying his team-mates played a 'complete game'.
"Thank God for this honour. We played a complete game. There was a lot of hard work. Right from the start we knew we would emerge triumphant," Al Haydos said yesterday.
"We played as a team and we managed to score the key goals," Al Haydos added.
"There was full support from the backroom staff. We will try and build on this success," Al Haydos said.
Another Al Sadd player Abdulkarim Hassan said his team exhibited a 'played a flawless' game to beat El Jaish in the Emir Cup final.
"I don't think we made any mistakes. We feel it was a flawless effort," Abdulkarim said.
"The more mistakes you make the more difficult it gets," he said after the final at Al Sadd Stadium.
"We were keen on not making any mistakes," the midfielder said.
"We had planned well and every bit of detail was looked at by coach Hussein Amute," Hassan said.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd Secretary-General Jassim Al Rumaihi said yesterday Al Sadd deserved to win the Emir Cup trophy.
"My team worked hard and we deserved this honour. We deserved to win this trophy," Al Rumaihi said as his team celebrated the win.
"The players worked as a unit. We reaped rewards for the efforts we put in," he added.
"I am sure we will build on this triumph. Next season we will come back and prove our worth again," he said.
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