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Al Wahda beat Al Jazira 7-6 in penalty shootout to win Super Cup after a 2-2 draw

 

Al Wahda were crowned champions of the Etisalat Super Cup following their deserved 7-6 win in a penalty shootout over Al Jazira after the two teams were tied to a 2-2 draw in the official time to resort directly to the shootout kicks without having extra time. Mohammad Khalfan Al Rumaithi gave away the trophy and the gold medals to Al Wahda players and the silver medals to Al Jazira.

The two teams demonstrated a brilliant display in front of a big mass of spectators. Waleed Jasim came close to hit the back of the net and put his team Al Wahda into the lead but his close- range shot was deflected by the Al Jazira's goalkeeper Khalid Jasim to a corner three minutes into the game. But Al Wahda were awarded a penalty one minute later when one of AL Jazira's defenders touched the ball with his hand inside the box. Al Jazira's goalie succeeded in spoiling Brazilian Hugo's penalty kick when he deflected the ball to a corner only five minutes from the word go.

Both teams went on playing a balanced game, creating a number of chances for Al Jazira to lose a valuable chance when the ball rebounded off the cross bar in the 22nd minute.

Al Wahda pressed hard creating havoc on the right flank through Mohammed Al Shehhy, the UAE Senior National Football Team player. Match referee     Mohammed Abdul Kareem awarded Al Wahda the second penalty when Al Shehhy collected the ball and stepped forward into the six-yard area, but he was fouled by Al Jazira's captain Saleh Obaid. Hugo did not commit a mistake this time when he slammed the ball into the left hand side giving his side a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute. Al Jazira's players went all out looking for the equalizer but they could not benefit from all the chances that came their way. They went on their attempts exerting every bit of effort and their hard and continuous work was soon rewarded when Brazilian Olivera received a perfect pass on the left flank outside the box. He switched the ball in front of Al Wahda's goal mouth for Ibrahima Diaky to bring the match to the first square to make it 1-1 with a lovely dash five minutes before the breather.

In the beginning of the second session, Al Wahda's coach Heksberger made his first change in the game when he pulled out Saeed Al Katheri and fielded on Amer Omar.

Al Jazira's goalkeeper Khalid Essa made three successive saves in one minute time when Hugo, Magrao and Waleed Jasim launched three shots two minutes after the break, but the goalie blocked bravely all three vollies. Only seven minutes have passed since the start of the second half before substitute Ahmad Juma'a launched a rocket-like volley that hit the bottom of the cross bar and crossed the goal line for the second goal. Ahmad Juma'a made it 2-1 just one minute after replacing his teammate Delgado.

Al Wahda tried their best to come back to the match and their Brazilian striker Hugo made their hopes come true off a penalty kick awarded to his team in the 64th minute when Amer Omer was fouled by the losers' defender Juma'a Abdullah inside the box to make it 2-2. Heksberger brought on Ismail Mattar six minutes before the final whistle to replace Mohammad Al Shehhy.

Subait Khatir tested his luck with a strong shot in the 67th minute but it was blocked by Al Wahda's goalkeeper Motaz Abdullah. The cross bar deprived Mahmoud Khamis of scoring a third goal for Al Wahda off a stand ball in the 76th minute.

Al Jazira and their opponents Al Wahda failed to score the winner in the last minutes. Al Wahda's coach brought on Ismaeil Matar six minutes before the end of the game and the same result remained for the two teams to resort to the penalty shootout.

The winners Al Wahda scored seven penalties through Khalid Jalal, Mahmoud Khamis, Magrao, Essa Santo, Ismaeil Matar, Amer Omar and Omar Ali Omer and lost only one via Hugo while the losers' Al Jazira netted six penalties through Bary, Abdul Salam Juma'a, Neil Lukas, Abdullah Jasim, Ibrahima Diaky, Subait Khatir and lost twice by Saleh Obaid whose shot hit the cross bar and Ahmad Juma'a whose volley was saved by Al Wahda's custodian Motaz Abdullah.