Al Duhail players and officials celebrate after winning the Ooredoo Cup final.
Al Duhail coach Hernan Crespo is setting sights on the trophy clean sweep this season after his Red Knights defeated Umm Salal in the Ooredoo Cup final on Tuesday night.
Nam Tae-hee scored the only goal in the title clash at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium as Al Duhail overcame a spirited show from Umm Salal to win the first trophy of the season.
Crespo hoped the triumph was just the beginning for his side that is also in contention to win the QNB Stars League (QSL), the Qatar Cup and the prestigious Amir Cup.
Al Duhail are on top of the QSL standings while they are scheduled to meet rivals 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.
“I am happy with this win and our first title. I am also proud of my players’ performance,” the coach said after winning the final.
“The victory in the final reflects the team spirit and collective play. We started the Ooredoo Cup campaign with our young players due to the absence of senior players, who were away on national duty. After their return, we continued to work hard to win this title,” Crespo said before adding his team will continue to hunt for more titles this season.
“Though we have our first title of the season, there are still more titles to compete for… such as the QNB Stars League, Qatar Cup and Amir Cup. We will fight with all our strength to win those titles,” the Argentine coach added.
Umm Salal were impressive in the final and came close to scoring several times but Al Duhail goalkeeper Shehab Ellethy kept the clean sheet with a brilliant performance.
Bassam Al Rawi admitted it was a tough final against Umm Salal, coached by Talal El Karkouri.
“It was a very tough game against a strong opponent, who also performed well during the game. But our desire and determination took us over the line,” the Al Duhail defender said.
“The coach spoke to us prior to the game, saying that there are 11 matches ahead of us, which are equal to four titles. We have succeeded in the very first match and won our first title of the season. There are still 10 more to go and three titles to win. We will definitely work hard to win them all,” Al Rawi added.
Al Duhail’s next game will be against Al Sailiya on April 4 at the QSL. They have 39 points from 16 games in the League, two points ahead of Al Arabi, who have featured in 17 matches. Al Sadd are third with 32 points after playing as many matches.
