Sadd breeze past Shahania to reach Amir Cup final

Al Sadd cruised past Al Shahania 5-1 to seal their place in the final of the 51st HH The Amir Cup at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium yesterday. The Wolves – who have won the prestigious title a record 18 times – were too good for their second division opponents.Santi Cazorla and Baghdad Bounedjah scored a brace each, while Ayoub El-Kaabi found the net once for Sadd, who will take on the winner of today’s second semi-final between Al Arabi and Al Sailiya.Sadd had one foot in the semis at the half-time as they led 3-0 after Spanish midfielder Cazorla converted a penalty in the 18th minute and also scored in the 32nd minute, while El-Kaabi found the net in the 26th minute.Shahania made a good start to the second half and pulled a goal back through Birahim Gaye in the 50th minute but posed little threat thereafter. Bounedjah then scored Sadd’s fourth – which also was Algerian striker’s 200th goal for the club – two minutes before regulation time and added one more in the stoppage time."I am very happy to reach the 200-goal milestone in this important match. This victory is a result of team effort and now we are looking forward to lifting the Amir Cup,” Bounedjah said.Sadd coach Juan Manuel Lillo was delighted with his team’s victory. "It was a special performance from the players. They dominated the match and didn’t commit many mistakes,” he said."We became a little complacent after the third goal and conceded a goal but overall we were outstanding. It is a special moment for me to reach the final and now we will do our best to win the tournament,” he added.When asked about which team he would like to face in the title clash, Lillo offered: "We respect all teams and any side which will qualify for the final would be tough and we will have to work hard to achieve our goal.”Meanwhile, Al Arabi will be hoping to carry their league form into their semi-final against Al Sailiya at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium. Arabi have won their last four matches and sit second in the league table – two points behind leaders Al Duhail. Arabi won their last of the six Amir Cup titles 30 years ago, while they lost in the final to Sadd in 2020. Coach Younis Ali was hopeful his team can reach the final and was wary of Al Sailiya’s threat, despite the latter being bottom of the league table."We want to reach the final of the most important tournament in Qatari football, but at the same time we understand the difficulty of the task in front of the team,” Ali said. "Sailiya have shown remarkable desire to reach the semi-finals. Their morale must be high, especially after they beat the defending champions and League leaders Duhail in the quarter-finals. But we are mentally, physically and technically ready to play a tough match,” Arabi coach added.Spanish midfielder Rafinha Alcantara said: "Our preparations are good to face Al Sailiya, and I have great confidence in our ability to qualify for the final. We as a team have great ambitions to achieve this goal of winning titles and bring the club back to glory days.”Meanwhile, Sailiya’s coach Mirghani al-Zain said his team was ready for another big scalp after their stunning win over Duhail in the quarters. Al-Zain, who replaced Sami Trabelsi, said: "We are ready for the match, and it is definitely a difficult confrontation in a tournament that is dear to everyone. Our players deserve praise for what they offer and facing Al Arabi will be difficult. But we have beaten Duhail before and we will strive to win tomorrow,” he said.For his part, Sailiya player Ahmed al-Sebaei said the match against Arabi in the Amir Cup will be completely different from the league.