Doha: Nam Tae-hee scored the winner as Al Duhail clinched their maiden Ooredoo Cup title after edging a spirited Umm Salal 1-0 in the final at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
The versatile South Korean midfielder scored the all-important goal in 37th minute to give Hernan Crespo’s side first crown of the season in front of a good number of spectators.
While Umm Salal produced a good show in patches, Al Duhail controlled the final with 67 percent ball possession. Al Duhail goalkeeper Shehab Ellethy was phenomenal making several outstanding saves to ensure victory for Al Duhail, who are on track to win all top four domestic titles this season including the Amir Cup, QNB Stars League (QSL) and the Qatar Cup.
With Qatar coach Carlos Queiroz also attending the final, Al Duhail put pressure on Umm Salal with early surges as Tae-hee created problems for their defense after the kick off.
But Umm Salal took the first shot on target when Vinicius Araujo unleashed a dangerous shot from just inside the box that was punched away by goalkeeper Ellethy.
After Mohammed Muntari headed wide captain Almoez Ali’s cross, Umm Salal responded with a fine display from Vinicius but his attempt from the left was once again thwarted by Ellethy.
The exchange of attacks continued and once again Umm Salal were defied by Ellethy, who stopped a long range shot from Joao Teixeira at the half-hour mark.
Tae-hee finally broke the deadlock curling the ball in from the right leaving no chance for Umm Salal goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar as Al Duhail made several more attempts before the breather after taking the lead.
As Umm Salal looked for an equaliser, Ismail Ibrahim made a fine run from the right but Ellethy once again blocked the attempt. Umm Salal’s appeal for a handball inside the box was turned down by VAR after Youssef Ayman blocked Adel Alawi’s attempt on goal in the 53rd minute.
Ismail Mohamad, who was a lone defender inside the box, displayed a fine show of defending parrying an attack initiated by Vinicius soon after Al Duhail took back-to-back corners.
After the one-hour mark, Tae-hee came close to scoring his second goal after substitute goalkeeper Samy Beldi left the goal open to block a long pass but the South Korean got hold of the ball and fired the ball with Umm Salal captain Adil Rhaili reaching right on time to deflect the hit.
Al Duhail started making repeated attacks and another fine hit by Tae-hee from near the penalty spot was saved by Beldi, who replaced Ababacar in the second half.
With 10 minutes remaining, Ellethy excelled again making a brilliant diving save from a dangerous hit by Abdellah Khafifi from near the penalty spot.
Al Duhail substitute Khaled Mohammed fired a fabulous shot from 15 yards outside the box but Beldi did well to avoid further damage before
Teixeira received a golden opportunity to equalise a minute before time but his shot was too high.
Al Duhail retained their lead in eight minutes of stoppage time to win the final and first title of the season.
In their next title clash, Al Duhail, who are leading the QSL standings, will take on Al Sadd in the Qatar Cup final on April 6. Crespo’s side will also meet Al Sailiya in the Amir Cup quarter-final on April 10.
