The quarter-finals of the Emir Football Cup 2023, which concluded yesterday, witnessed resounding surprises that came as a continuation of what happened in the final price round, with the successes of the second-division teams that guaranteed them representation in the semi-finals for the second time in the history of the tournament.
Contrary to all expectations, Al-Duhail eliminated the defending champion from the quarter-final round after it fell to Al-Sailiya yesterday, Monday, with a penalty shootout 5-4, after a tie with two goals for the same, in a heavy-caliber surprise in light of the great level presented by Al-Duhail in recent times after winning the first titles of the current season. Where he was crowned champion of the Qatar Cup at the expense of the rivals Al-Sadd, and was crowned before that champion of the Irid Cup at the expense of Umm Salal, while Al-Sailiya suffers from very difficult circumstances at present, as it occupies the last place in the league with 9 points, which makes it the closest to direct relegation to the ranks of second-division clubs. .
Al-Sailiya, with its new national coach, Mirghani Al-Zein, made a very elegant presentation during the match, which he almost decided in the regular time, after he remained ahead with two goals to one until the last seconds of the counted time instead of lost, as Al-Duhail snatched the equalizing goal in the last breath, forcing him to resort directly according to the instructions of the federation. Qatar Football Club to penalties, which did not prevent him from avoiding the loss and granted Al-Sailiya a pass to the semi-finals. Al-Sailiya set a date in the semi-finals on April 25th, with Al-Arabi, who qualified at the expense of Muaither from the second degree, by defeating him with two unanswered goals last Saturday at the start of the final price round.
Al-Arabi, who won the eight titles in the tournament, the last of which was in 1993, put an end to the adventure of Muaither, who had recorded the first surprises of the final price round when he eliminated Al-Ahly, the owner of the first title of the Prince’s Cup, by winning 3 goals for a goal in a match that will remain a memory for the Cubs of Spanish coach Jose Murcia, however. The task in the quarter-finals against Al-Arabi, which is full of stars of heavy caliber, was not easy at all, so the team of the national coach, Yunus Ali, was able to excel without much effort, secure his seat in the semi-finals, and continue to search for the title that has been absent from his coffers for a long time.
The second-division teams ensured their presence in the semi-finals through Al-Shahaniya, who continued its impressive performances in the tournament, proving that it is the difficult number after it rejected all speculations and outperformed Al-Gharafa on penalties by four goals to three after a tie in normal time with three goals for the same in a match that knew a lot of excitement. But with the continuous superiority of Al-Shahaniya, in exchange for Al-Gharrafa panting behind the comeback all the time.
Al-Shahaniya had reached the quarter-finals after eliminating Al-Wakra, the candidate to go far with penalties, before reiterating the narrow differences with the first-class teams by reaching the semi-finals for the second time in the history of the competition, repeating what Al-Markhiya did in the 2020 edition, which surpassed Al-Rayyan. And Al-Gharafa before leaving from the semi-finals in front of Al-Arabi, the runner-up of that version, in which Al-Sadd was crowned champion. Al-Shahaniya set a date in the semi-finals on the 24th of this month with Al-Sadd, who managed to avoid the surprise of Umm Salal and scored a big victory with three goals for one in the meeting that took place yesterday, Tuesday, in the quarter-finals. Al-Sadd, the most crowned Prince Cup with eighteen titles, entered the match in order to move forward in the tournament, which is the only resort in the current season after losing the Qatar Cup title to Al-Duhail and almost losing the opportunity to compete for the league title that it held in the previous two editions after falling behind by a full seven points. About the leaders Al-Duhail, who also has a postponed match with Al-Rayyan.
Despite the offensive pressure exerted by Al Sadd, Umm Salal showed great defensive ferocity in the first half, but it was unable to resist in the second half, conceding two goals within six minutes, without reducing the difference in avoiding losing after Al Sadd’s experience settled matters in Injury time with a third goal.
In terms of results in the quarter-finals, Al-Arabi defeated Muaither with two goals without a response, and Al-Shahaniya beat Al-Gharafa by a penalty shootout 4-3 after a tie in regular time (3-3), while Al-Sailiya defeated Al-Duhail by a penalty shootout 5-4 after a tie 2. 2 in regular time, and finally Al Sadd defeated Umm Salal by three goals to one. In terms of numbers, the 17 teams that competed in the tournament have played 13 matches so far, from the preliminary round to the semi-finals, during which nine victories were recorded, compared to four matches that ended in a draw, which were decided by penalty kicks. So far in the tournament, he scored 43 goals in the 13 matches, with a goal percentage of 3.3 per match, and five penalty kicks were awarded, of which four were scored and one was missed, and 57 yellow cards and one red card were issued.
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