Al Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira says winning the Emir Cup was a difficult task after his side rallied to overcome a goal deficit and beat Al Rayyan 2-1 and lift the Emir Cup at the newly-renovated Khalifa International Stadium on Friday.
After a drab first half, both teams threw everything at each other but it was Al Rayyan who drew the first blood with star player Rodrigo Tabata.
Later, however, the Rayyan defence paid dearly for their sloppiness to concede a penalty that was highly disputed by its player but Italian referee stood his ground with his call. Hassan Haydos made no mistake from the spot to level the tie beating Oumar Barry,
Just when the 47,332 spectators were preparing for another Emir Cup penalty shoot-out, the unexpected happened in the first minute of added time as Algerian winger Jugurtha Hamroun broke the Lions’ hearts, clinically finishing a Xavi Hernandez pass.
The happy Portuguese coach after the match, said,”The final was a difficult one, as Al-Rayyan is a strong opponent and play with the desire to win. However, our players managed to clinch the match before it went to penalties, just as I wanted. The players performed excellently and worked hard for this win, which was the reason for our crowning.
“We were behind by a goal but we managed to equalise and we worked hard to finish off the match in normal time itself. This is what happened through Hamroun’s winner in the final moments,” the former FC Porto coach added.
Ferreira also thanked the management for standing with the team since the beginning of the season and supporting them in every way, despite missing out on the QSL title and the Champions League qualification.
“The team was looking to win all three titles but we just missed out on the league because of some errors. We managed to compensate for that by winning both the Qatar Cup and the Emir Cup. This shows that Al Sadd will always compete for all the titles,” said Ferreira, while pointing out that the league title will be the prime objective for next season, especially as it is the only title that he hasn’t won with the team.
Meanwhile, Hamroun said he fulfilled a promise to himself to score in the final. He spoke of his great delight after his winning goal gave the Wolves the triumph.
“I delivered on my promise to myself, which was to score a goal in the final against Rayyan. Although the normal time was over and we were into additional time, I was confident that I would score in this important clash,” said Hamroun.
“I dedicate this win to our loyal fans that supported us and came to the match believing in our abilities. I thank them for their attendance; they are the main support behind the team,” he added.
The Algerian also said,”I scored five goals against Al Rayyan this season but I consider this goal in the final as the most important one because it gave my team the prestigious title. We were in real need of this title. Although we wasted many chances in the first half, we were not worried.
“When Al Rayyan took the lead in the second half, we still had the belief and we managed to increase our effort and focus until we went on to clinch the match in the final few minutes. This shows that Al Sadd is a big team and plays until the very end without giving up. Everyone thought that the match would go on to penalties but we had a different view.”
Hamroun also spoke about the family feeling at the club.”Everyone at Al Sadd work like one single family. This is the secret of our victory. We excelled this season because of the team effort we showed. Everyone knows that Al Sadd is a champion team and if not for bad luck, we could have won the Qatar Stars League too, getting a treble of titles instead of just a double.”