Al-Sailiya beat Al-Rayyan 2-0 in the final of Ooredoo Cup on Friday to win their first-ever trophy at top level. The game was played behind closed doors at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium due to coronavirus restrictions.
The club – who were formed in 1995 and won promotion for the first time in 2003 – have only won second division titles before today’s match, but they have been one of the most consistent teams in Qatar Stars League over the past few season, with the club’s management putting their full trust in Sami Trabelsi since 2013.
The Tunisian coach led them to their best-ever finish in the league (third in 2018-19) and Amir Cup (finalist in 2014). The team also made their AFC Champions League debut last season but lost in the playoff round against Shahr Khodro of Iran on penalties.
Serigne Kara Mbodji headed in Nadir Belhadj’s cross in the added time of the first half to give them a crucial lead, before substitute Mohanad Ali secured victory with a powerful strike in the final minute of the match.
Al-Rayyan were missing key players who are on international duty including Abdulaziz Hatem (Qatar), Yohan Boli (Ivory Coast), Naif Al-Hadhrami (Qatar U23), Shojaa Khalilzadeh (Iran), but they came close to finding the net on several occasion, only to be denied by an in-form Claude Amine Lecomte.
Ooredoo Cup started in 2009 as QSL Cup and was re-branded over the following years for sponsorship reasons. It gave the Qatar Stars League clubs an opportunity to play competitive football during the international breaks.
Match Info
Al-Sailiya
Claude Amine Lecomte
Ahmed Al-Menhali
Serigne Kara Mbodji
Rami Fayez
Ramin Rezaeian
Mohamed Muddather
(Mohanad Ali 46’)
Majdi Siddiq
Saad Hussein
(Meshaal Al-Shammari 90+4)
Nadir Belhadj
Tiago Bezerra
(Mostafa Abdulhameed 86’)
Abdulgadir Ilyas
(Ghanem Al-Qahtani 90+4)
Unused Substitutes
Abdulrahman Mohammed
Omar Fathi
Abdullah Al-Marri
Mohanad Ali
Abdulla Mahmoud
Fares Khalid Azadi
Al-Rayyan
Fahad Younes
Mohammed Alaaeldin
(Tameem Mansour 84’)
Dame Traore
Gabriel Mercado
Mohammad Juma
(Khalid Muftah 73’)
Franck Kom
Ahmed Abdul Maqsoud
(Abdulrahman Al-Korbi 73’)
Abdulrahman Al-Harazi
Ibrahim Masoud
Yacine Brahimi
Ali Ferydoon
Unused Substitutes
Saud Al-Hajri
Sultan Bakhit Al-Kuwari
Mouafak Awad
Yousef Omar Fakheddine
Hadi Ali Tabasideh
Moamen Mutasem Rajab
Al-Sailiya’s Road to the Title
Group Stage
Al-Khor 1-5 George Kwasi
Al-Duhail 3-1 Ahmed Hammoudan, Tiago Bezerra (2)
Al-Sadd 4-4 Tiago Bezerra (3), Mohanad Ali
Al-Wakrah 2-2 Abdulla Al-Marri, Tiago Bezerra
Qatar SC 1-0 Abdulgadir Ilyas)
Quarter-finals
Al-Arabi 2-2 (Ahmed Hammoudan, Abdulgadir Ilyas)
Al-Sailiya won 5-4 on penalties
Semifinals
Al-Wakrah 3-0
Originally lost the match 3-0 but the result was reversed later due to Al-Wakrah fielding an ineligible player.
Final
Al-Rayyan 2-0 (Kara Mbodji, Mohanad Ali)