DOHA: Al Duhail has prevailed over Al Arabi 2-1 in a thrilling final to lift the 2024-2025 season QSL Cup at the Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium.
CEO of Qatar Stars League, Hani Taleb Ballan crowned Al Duhail with the gold medals and cup, and Al Arabi with silver medals.
Burke made two crucial saves in stoppage time besides earlier denying the rivals' golden chance to equalize as he stopped an Al Arabi penalty kick from Hassan Alaaeddin diving full length to his right in the 80th minute.
Earlier, Michael Olunga (27th minute) and Benjamin Bourigeaud (39th minute) scored the goals for Al Duhail, while Isaac Lihadji scored for Al Arabi in the 55th minute.
Both of Al Duhail's goals came from the assist of livewire Under-21 player Ghanem Al Minhali, who also stood out with his performance.
The final had a slow start, with either teams trying to make forays and guage the rival defence. But Al Duhail soon changed gears and in a sudden burst of charge made a fast move down the left as Al Minhali sent in a flying cross which was equally superbly taken on the volley by Olunga with his left foot strike rattling the Al Arabi net for Al Duhail to gain the lead.
Al Arabi tried to retaliate immediately and in the 31st minute Rodrigo Sanchez (Rodri) made an attempt at the Al Duhail goal, but his shot was cut off by an alert Burke.
Seven minutes later, Al Duhail on a counter broke into the Al Arabi danger area, but this time Karim Boudiaf's kick went straight to goalkeeper Mohammed Ibrahim.
The disappointment for Al Duhail, however, lasted only a minute as Al Minhali provided a fine pass to Benjamin, who went on to strike from inside left of the box for his team to go up 2-0.
Al Duhail again came close to scoring in the 43rd minute and again it was Al Minhali making a cross from the left, but this time Olunga's solid header was pushed over the bar by a leaping goalkeeper Ibrahim.
In the second half, a determined Al Arabi came about charging at Al Duhail and soon were almost rewarded in the 49th minute as Alaaeddin lunged in front of the goal to reach for a cross from captain Abdullah Al Marafi, but fell while being tackled by Al Duhail's Lucas Verissimo. Alaaeddin still managed to kick the ball into the goal. The referee, however, after a VAR check, ruled out the goal as the ball had hit Alaaeddin's hand before going in.
Al Arabi hit back a few minutes later, with Lihadji latching on to a fabulous diagonal through pass from Rodri before going on to push the ball past an advancing Burke.
The goal also added a spring to Al Arabi's feet as midway through the session they became robust in both their attack and defence, also making some rough tackles in a bid to fetch the equalizer.
With minutes ticking, the game got more exciting and a frenetic action inside the Al Duhail danger area saw Al Arabi's Al Marafi fall down with Al Duhail's Ibrahim Kader's (Bambi) boot hitting his shoe as the latter went for a clearance kick. The referee called for a penalty against Al Duhail and reconfirmed his decision after a VAR check.
The spot kick was a golden chance for Al Arabi to equalize, but Burke foiled Alaaeddin's attempt, much to Al Duhail's big relief.
Later, with 10 minutes added to the game as stoppage time, there was more thrill for the large number of fans at the stadium as Burke stood tall guarding Al Duhail's fort. First, he cut off a strong kick Helal Mohammed's kick from a short distance and later staved off a substitute Abdullah Al Sulaiti's attempt.
With two minutes left, there was more drama as Bambi pushed Rodri a few yards outside the box and the referee awarded Al Arabi a free-kick, but it went on to hit the Al Duhail wall. In the dying moments, tempers ran high as Al Duhail's Luis Alberto making a charge with the ball was held by Al Arabi's Luiz Martin Junior. The referee flashed the latter with a yellow card before soon blowing the final whistle as Al Duhail players celebrated a memorable victory.
