Two early first half goals gave Al Rayyan a thrilling 2-1 victory over their arch rivals Al Sadd in the final of the 2013 Emir Cup on Saturday, and their sixth title in Qatar's most prestigious competition.
HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, The Emir of Qatar, presented the trophy for the winners after the match that drew more than 50,000 spectators. Thousands of fans who were not able to find a ticket for the game, had to watch it in giant screens around the stadium.
Nilmar opened the score for "The Lions" after six minutes, before winning a penalty three minutes later, and Fabio Cesar made no mistake from the spot to double the score.
The two goals had a shocking effect on Al Sadd players, who were denied a legitimate goal earlier in the third minute of the game, when Youni Mahmoud was wrongly adjudged to be in an offside position.
Al Sadd pulled one back early in the second half through Spanish legend Raul Gonzalez, then pushed their opponents for an equalizer for the rest of the match.
Hassan Al Haydos hit the post with a fierce effort and Nadir Belhadj wasted an easy chance in the late stages of the game that ended in Al Sadd's third final defeat this season after also losing in the finals of Sheikh Jassim Cup and Heir Apparent Cup.
The colorful Al Rayyan fans were one of the highlights of the game, and the thousands of fans that took it to the streets of Doha to celebrate the victory, with the celebrations lasting till the early hours of the following day, proved once again that "Al Raheeb" currently have the biggest fan base in the country.
With this victory, Al Rayyan also secured Qatar's final spot in the 2014 AFC Champions League.
Match Info
2013 Emir Cup Final
Khalifa International Stadium
Doha, Qatar
Al Rayyan(2) [Nilmar 6' - Fabio Cesar 9']
Al Sadd (1) [Raul Gonzalez 55']
Al Rayyan: Omar Barry - Mohamed Alaa - Cho Yong Hyung, Moussa Haroon, Mohamed Alaa Al Din, Abdul Karim al Ali - Alvaro Fernandez (Ahmed Alaa 86') , Hamad Al Obaidi, Daniel Goumo, Fabio Cesar (Younis Ali 90+3) - Tabata, Nilmar (Jarallah Al Marri 90+5)
Al Sadd: Saad Al Shib - Lee Jung Soo, Ibrahim Majid, Mohamed Kasula, Abdul Karim Hassan (Ali Asad 46') - Talal Al Bloushi, Nadir Belhadj, Hassan Al Haydos, Khalfan Ibrahim (Yousef Ahmed 81') - Raul Gonzalez, Younis Mahmoud.
Referee: Abdul Rahman Abdou (Qatar)
Cautions: Cesar, Al Ali (Al Rayyan) Al Haydos, Kasula, Belhadj (Al Sadd)
Video highlights from Al Kass Channel