(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Doha: El Jaish survived a late scare by Al Sadd 3-2 yesterday to reach the final of the prestigious Qatar Cup Tournament in which they will meet Lekhwiya.
After leading 3-1 at one stage El Jaish were troubled by the losing side in the final few minutes of the game but Sabri Lamouchi’s made sure that they meet Lekhwiya in the April 29 final at the same venue.
An own goal from Bagdad Bounjah a fine strike from Romarinho and a penalty from Abderrazak Hamdallah was enough for them despite Al Sadd grabbing two goals back thorugh Hassan Haydoos and Morteza Pouraliganji to set up a grandstand finish.
Al Sadd looked the better side in the early exchanges and could of taken an early lead had marauding wing-back Abdelkarim Hassan’s shot not drawn a good save from Jaish keeper Khalifah Ababacar.
Despite Sadd’s dominance it was El Jaish who took the lead in fortuitous circumstances on the 32nd minute.
A Sardor Rashidov corner was scrappily bundled into the net by Sadd striker Bagdad Bounjah much to the anguish of the Algerian striker.
Sadd sprung back into life and wasted no time and two minutes later restored parity.
Qatar national team captain Hassan Haydoos fine right wing run and cross-come shot was tipped in by Khalifa Abacar to give Sadd a deserved equalizer based on the balance of play.
The final ten minutes opened up for Al Sadd and could have gone into the first half break in the lead.
Young wingback Musab Keder found himself twice in threating positions in the Jaish penalty box. Had the youngster had more composure he wouldn’t have fluffed his lines when it mattered.
El Jaish’s Brazillian striker Romario Ricardo da Silva vies for the ball with Al Sadd’s Morteza Mohammadjan during their Qatar Cup semi-final at Al Sadd Stadium yesterday. El Jaish booked their spot in the Qatar Cup Final with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Al Sadd.
The tie went in at the first half honors even 1-1. In the second half Jaish came out with plenty of conviction and took the lead after fantastic build up between Hamdullah and Romarinho.
The Moroccan striker traded passes with his team-mate and put through a fine through ball. Romarinho had time and space to slot into the bottom right hand corner to give Jaish a 2-1 lead.
Qatar Cup champions Lekhiwya upheld their impressive record in the competition with a deserved 3-1 win over QSL champions Al Rayyan on Sunday evening to reach the final.
Following their impressive victory over Al Rayyan Lekhwiya striker Mohammed Muntari after his sides impressive 3-1 victory over Al Rayyan in the Qatar cup semifinals to get his thoughts on the game.
Muntari grabbed one of the goals in the win and had plenty to say about his side.
“I feel great not for my goal but for the team. We came into this game with a good mentality we didn’t do well in the league and we were playing the champions (Al Rayyan) we just had one objective to get to the Qatar Cup final” he said.
Muntari’s goal and Lekhwiya’s second on the night effectively ended the contest for Al Rayyan who stormed the to the QSL title this season. Speaking about his celebration Muntari was clear that revenge was on Lekhwiya’s mind.
“Before the game we faced much criticism especially when we lost 5-0 to Al Rayyan. The team was pumped to get a big result and we delivered. That was shown in my celebration” he added.