Champions Al Duhail SC find heroes all around the pitch

Doha, Qatar: Al Duhail SC started as outsiders but fought valiantly to emerge as heroic champions in Amir Cup final at the new Al Janoub Stadium on Thursday.

Duhail were a goal behind by the sixth minute and although they pulled level soon through Ali Afif, the Red Knights were a man down when Almoez Ali, one of their key players, got his marching orders for a mistimed tackle on Baghdad Bounedjah.

The stage was all set for Sadd to go in for the kill, but Duhail, who found heroes everywhere on the pitch, were not letting go without a fight.

And by the end, they were all over their rivals who lost the plot completely and ended up conceding four goals and finished with just eight men on the pitch after Hamad Ismael and Baghdad Bounedjah also were shown red cards.

Duhail midfielder Luiz Martin, one among their many heroes, said it was an amazing effort.

“It’s amazing,” said Martin. “Our coach is new but he believed in us. We now want to win the AFC Champions League,” who put in a lion-hearted performance in Duhail midfield in the absence of their injured captain Karim Boudiaf.

Assim Madibo was his usual battling self and worked his socks off to avoid space for Sadd’s heavyweight midfield.

Madibo said unity was their main strength.

“We showed what we could do on the pitch. We fought all the way and we played as one unit. There were opportunities to score. The players did not lack in any way. We are very happy with this performance. We deserved to win,” said Madibo.

Ali Afif, who cancelled out his brother Akram Afif’s early opener for Sadd with a beautifully taken goal, had one of his best games in Duhail shirt, with an assist and a breathless all-round show from start to finish.

“We put out our best performance of the event in the final,” said Afif who came up trumps against his more illustrious younger sibling.

“The match was great. They also played well but we stuck to our guns and dominated the match. We were united on the pitch. We hope we can play even better when the next season starts. I applaud our team management for taking care of all the needs of the players,” said Afif.

After appearing shaky in the opening period, Duhail defence settled down well as Mehdi Benatia showed his class when they needed it the most.

The Moroccan defender was calmness personified and was always one step ahead of Sadd attackers in his reading of the game.

Ahmed Yassir also had a splendid game and besides being rock solid in defence, he also was crucial in Duhail’s attacking threat on the left where he beautifully linked up with Ali Afif.

But Duhail’s star of the show was undoubtedly Paulo Edmilson, who used his nimble feet to devastating effect and also took the opportunity to display his dance moves in front of a packed audience comprising HH The Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and a host of legendary stars of the game.

Edmilson had given AFC player of last season Abdulkarim Hassan a tough start to the match without being able to produce an end result, but once he got ahead of Tarek Salman and induced a late challenge from the Sadd defender at the start of the second half, it was all his show.

The former Standard Liege winger then scored twice and set up another for substitute Youssef El Arabi as Sadd lost their focus and their wits.

The victory would definitely help coach Rui Faria, who made all the right decisions, prepare confidently for the next season.

Duhail Vice-President Khalifa Khamis Al Sulaiti said he did not expect such a score-line.

“We did not expect that we would be dominating like this since our main players were not 100 per cent. Yet the fight shown by our players was exceptional. Their hard work on the pitch showed what it means to keep fighting. The players will take all the confidence from this victory.”