DOHA (Qatar): Baghdad Bounedjah scored a double as Al Sadd defeated Al Duhail 4-0 in Qatar Cup final at their home ground here on Friday evening.
Bounedjah netted in the 21st and 45+3 minutes respectively while Nam Tae-Hee opened the scoring in the fifth while Akram Afif converted from the spot in the 71st-minute to complete the rout.
Sadd, who avenged their 2018 final defeat, thus regained the coveted trophy they last won in 2017.
Going into the match, the two teams had already faced off four times this season. The first of their double-leg AFC Champions League Round of 16 ended in a draw and Al Sadd beat Al Duhail in the second to progress to the quarterfinals on aggregate score.
Sadd beat Al Duhail 1-0 in the one-off, season-opening Sheikh Jassim Cup (Super Cup). Then, Al Duhail turned the tables as they beat Al Sadd 4-1 in Week 9 of the 2019-20 Qatar Stars League.
The battle between two heavyweights in Qatar football, their fifth face-off this season, was full of excitement even though Al Sadd were ahead by three goals to nil by the half-time whistle.
Sadd off to a great start
Sadd dominated holders Al Duhail, who had won the Qatar Cup in 2015 and 2018 after the Qatar Stars League’s flagship tournament was rebranded in 2014, in the title clash of the tournament’s sixth edition played before a huge crowd of spectators at the Al Sadd Stadium.
Nam, who joined The Wolves from Al Duhail at the start of this season, had a role in the first and third goals, while Al Duhail goalkeeper Amine Lecomte would have been feeling guilty over conceding the first two goals.
Nam opened the scoring by nodding the ball home, beating Lecomte’s reflex, off a cross from Pedro Miguel.
Bounedjah in sparkling form
Sadd doubled the lead not before long as Bounedjah sent home a faulty clearance by Lecomte after the latter dealt with a minus pass by central defender Mehdi Benatia following a through pass by Abdelkarim Hassan.
Bounedjah made it 3-0 with an angular shot that gave Lecomte no chance to even dive, with Nam doing the spadework with a touch pass.
Al Duhail’s Almoez Ali sent a rising shot straight to goalkeeper Saad Al Dossari, while Al Sadd’s Hassan Al Haydous narrowly missed the target following an inch-perfect cross from the left by Akram.
The closest the Red Knights came to scoring was when Han failed to connect a through pass by Almoez after the latter evaded a challenge from Abdelkarim Hassan in 53rd minute.
Akram converted a penalty awarded by referee Saoud Ali Al Athba after he was tripped by Mohammed Moosa to send the Sadd fans into delirious joy.
