SPORT16 FRIDAY 19 MAY 2017

Islamic Games: Flying start for Qatar in basketball 3x3Fawad Hussain The Peninsula

Qatar got off to a flying start in the basketball 3x3 event at Islamic Solidar-

ity Games 2017, winning back-to-back games on the opening day of the competition, yesterday in Baku.

According to details made available, Qatar prevailed over Ivory Coast 15-7 in their open-ing match and then defeated Indonesia 21-12 to make two victories in a row following a clinical display.

Eyeing a spot in the quar-ter-finals, the Al Anabi will play Mali and Jordan in their next

matches and at least one win will take them in the last 8 stage.

Qatar continued their impressive performance in other events also with Mubarak Shanan giving them 7-5 and 6-0 victory in tennis by overcoming Pakistani rival Abad.

On the other hand, Qatar’s Lee Ben opened his campaign in the table tennis event on a winning note, defeating UAE’s Abdullah Al Baloushi 4-0.

Qatar has so far accumu-lated 7 medals in the multi-sporting gala, including one gold, a silver and five bronze medals.

Turkey are leading the med-als table with 151 medals including

a total of 58 gold medals, followed by hosts Azerbaijan who have won 112 medals including 56 gold medals. Iran are third with an aggregate of 63 medals including 16 gold medals.

Meanwhile, the Qatar Olym-pic Committee Secretary, Dr Thani bin Abdulrahman Al Kuwari met the Qatari sport del-egation on sidelines of the event in Baku and conveyed the greet-ings of the Qatar Olympic Committee President H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani.

Dr. Thani also praised the performance of athletes per-formance and urged them to redouble efforts in remaining days of the prestigious event.

Qatar's Tanguy Ngombo reacts during the men's 3x3 basketball match against Ivory Coast in Baku yesterday.

Al Attiyah looks to grab FIA Cup lead The Peninsula

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Poland’s Aron Domzala will represent Overdrive Racing at the forth-

coming Rally Kazakhstan, round five of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies, starting tomorrow.

The Central Asian country takes its place in the FIA calen-dar for the first time and the Automotorsport Federation of the Republic of Kazakhstan has laid on a challenging six-day desert route to challenge 23 teams and competitors from 15 nations.

The event starts and finishes in the main square in Aktau City – a relatively new conurbation devised to service the require-ments of the oil and gas industry on the shores of the Caspian Sea – although the rally will be based at the Kenderly Sea Resort, around 220km from Aktau, for three nights after the second selective section on May 22.

Al Attiyah has overcome a shaky start to the season and recovered well from his crash in Abu Dhabi to win two recent events in Qatar and Jordan. That victory at the Qatar Cross-Coun-try Rally last month has enabled the two-time Dakar winner to

close to within 25 points of the early season championship leader, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi.

“Kazakhstan is a new event in the championship and a new challenge for Matthieu and I,” said Al Attiyah.

“This is also an important rally for us. We need to win. I need the 50 points. I have a new

car and will try my best to achieve the goal. It will not be easy. I know the stages will be challenging and there are sev-eral talented drivers on the entry list.”

Al Attiyah’s Overdrive Racing team-mate Aron Domzala led the FIA World Cup after two rallies in Russia and Dubai, but the talented youngster suffered in the intense heat of the desert at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and fin-ished ninth in Qatar.

The area around Aktau City has sustained heavy rainfall over the last 48 hours and race offi-cials will be hoping that large areas of standing water drain off before the first Aktau-Aktau stage gets underway on Saturday.

Top 51. Khalid Al-Qassimi (ARE) 105pts

2. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT) 90pts

3. Mohammed Abu Issa (QAT) 68pts

4. Martin Prokop (CZE) 54pts

5. Yasir Saeidan (SAU) 53pts

FIA WORLD CUP FOR CROSS-COUNTRY RALLIES – STANDINGS

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah is targeting a victory at next week's Rally Kazakhstan.

Sharapova gets Birmingham wildcard London AFP

Maria Sharapova (pic-tured) has been granted a wildcard for next

month's WTA grasscourt event in Birmingham, a key Wimble-don warm-up, organisers said yesterday.

It comes two days after the Russian former world number one was refused a wildcard for the French Open following her 15-month ban for doping.

Next month will see 2004 Wimbledon champion Sharap-ova, 30, play the Birmingham

event for the first time in seven years.

She is guaranteed a spot in qualifying for Wimbledon but still hopes to get into the main draw for the Grand Slam with a wildcard. Wimbledon chiefs will

wait until June 20, just days ahead of the qualifying event, before deciding whether to give her a wildcard.

Lawn Tennis Association chief executive Michael Downey accepted "not everyone will agree" with the decision to give Sharapova a wildcard for Birmingham.

"We have received a two-year commitment from one of the most famous athletes in the world, Maria Sharapova, to play the Aegon Classic Birmingham," he said, after the Russian said she would play there in 2017 and 2018.

Djokovic enters last 8 Rome AFP

Second seed Novak Djoko-vic reached the Rome Masters quarter-finals

yesterday after a 6-4, 6-4 third round win over Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut.

Djokovic, beaten in the final by Britain's Andy Murray last year, will now face either Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro or Japanese seventh seed Kei Nishikori.

Rafael Nadal will meet Jack Sock in the last 8 stage.

Novak Djokovic (SRB x2) bt Rob-

erto Bautista Agut (ESP) 6-4, 6-4

Marin Cilic (CRO x6) bt David Gof-

fin (BEL x9) 6-3, 6-4

Milos Raonic (CAN x5) bt Tomas

Berdych (CZE x12) 6-3, 6-2

John Isner (USA) bt Stan Wawrinka

(SUI x3) 7-6 (7/1), 6-4

Alexander Zverev (GER x16) bt Fa-

bio Fognini (ITA) 6-3, 6-3

ROME MASTERS RESULTS

Former champ Hayden hit by car in ItalyRome Reuters

American former MotoGP champion Nicky Hayden was

taken to hospital on Wednes-day after being struck by a car while training on his bicycle along Italy's Adriatic coast, the World Superbike series said.

Its official website (www.worldsbk.com) said the 35-year-old, who rides for the Red Bull Honda team, was hit while training near the east coast resort of Rimini follow-ing a race at Imola.

"Ambulances arrived and Hayden was taken directly to the hospital," it added.

The statement did not say how severe any injuries might be. Media reports said the "Kentucky Kid", who won the MotoGP championship on a Honda in 2006, was in a seri-ous condition.

He last raced in the cham-pionship in Spain in September 2016 as a stand-in for injured Australian Jack Miller at the privately-run Marc VDS Honda team. Hay-den started 216 races between 2003 and 2015, winning three.

Michele Scarponi, the 2011 Giro d'Italia cycling champion, was killed last month after being hit by a van while training close to his home in Filottrano in eastern Italy.

Britain's Tour de France champion Chris Froome escaped unhurt this month while having his bike written off in a hit-and-run incident in France.

Italian great Valentino Rossi, who leads the champi-onship and is racing in France this weekend, hailed his former team mate as "one of the best friends I have had in the paddock".

"Come on Nicky, we're all with you," he said.

Nicky Hayden

Suspended Pakistani cricketer Sharjeel Khan (centre) leaves with his lawyers after appearing before a tribunal in Lahore yesterday.

British tip-off led to PSL scandal, says ICC Lahore AFP

Britain's National Crime Agency provided the initial intelligence that

helped uncover a major spot-fixing scandal in the Pakistan Super League, a leading offi-cial from world cricket's governing body said yesterday.

Sir Ronnie Flanagan, head of the International Cricket Council's anti-cor-ruption and safety unit (ACSU) was speaking to reporters in Lahore after tes-tifying in a case against opening batsman Sharjeel Khan, who has been provi-sionally suspended by his board since the scandal erupted in February.

Fast bowler Mohammad Irfan and spinner Moham-mad Nawaz have already been banned for six months with six suspended, and one month with one suspended, respectively after confessing to failing to report offers to f i x m a t c h e s .

Opening batsmen Khalid Latif, Shahzaib Hasan and Nasir Jamshed, who did not feature in the tournament, have been charged with more serious offences, and face bans ranging from five years to life if found guilty.

Flanagan, head of the ACSU since 2010, said: "The inquiry was absolutely led by the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) throughout and our role was simply that before the PSL match we received intelligence that was passed to us by the British National Crime Agency."

Sharjeel was charged for failing to report an offer to fix and for playing two 'dot balls' in exchange for money.

Flanagan added: "As chairman of the ICC's ACSU and I work very closely with the domestic anti-corruption units across the world, what-ever is the outcome of this case, I would say that the PCB and its unit in this entire process have demonstrated a great determination to keep cricket clean."

17FRIDAY 19 MAY 2017 SPORT

Monaco players celebrate at the end of their last French L1 match against St-Etienne (ASSE) on Wednesday at the "Louis II Stadium" in Monaco.

Monaco end PSG reign, become French champs Monaco AFP

Teenage star Kylian Mbappe helped Monaco secure their first Ligue 1 title in 17 years with his 15th

goal of the season in Wednes-day's 2-0 victory at home to Saint-Etienne.

The 18-year-old raced clear of the visiting defence to nerve-lessly roll in the opening goal after 19 minutes at the Stade Louis II as Paris Saint-Germain's four-year reign as French cham-pions came to an end.

Valere Germain added a sec-ond with the final kick of the match.

"We can finally say we are champions. I'm very proud of this team, of these players. It's a dream for me, I'm very happy," Monaco captain Radamel Fal-cao told Canal+.

Leonardo Jardim's side were effectively guaranteed the title after Sunday's 4-0 win over Lille due to their vastly superior goal difference and needed just a point to secure an eighth league crown.

Monaco's 11th straight vic-tory bumped them up to 92 points, six ahead of PSG, and they can match the capital club's single-season record of 30 wins in Saturday's final game at Rennes.

"We've been able to hold on all the way against teams like Paris and Nice who kept up with the pace until the end," said Mbappe.

"Unfortunately for them but luckily for us, we're the ones leaving with the trophy."

Not since Claude Puel guided a squad featuring Fabien Bar-thez, David Trezeguet and Willy Sagnol to the 1999-2000 title had Monaco been crowned kings of France.

Saint-Etienne held Monaco to a 1-1 draw in October, but Christophe Galtier's side arrived in the principality low on confi-dence after their 5-0 thrashing by PSG and decimated by injury.

Mbappe's meteoric rise this season has seen him torment some of Europe's leading clubs and it was hardly surprising the teenager made the crucial breakthrough after a cautious start.

Stephane Ruffier palmed away a Mbappe snapshot with the first real chance, but there was little he could do moments later when the striker latched

onto Radamel Falcao's threaded pass and calmly rounded the

Saint-Etienne goalkeeper before slotting home.

Monaco were far from their free-flowing best which had seen them become just the fifth team to rack up over 100 goals in a French season, with Dani-jel Subasic forced to save from a Florentin Pogba header.

However Falcao came close to providing Monaco with added breathing space when his pow-erful header from a corner was superbly kept out by Ruffier.

Saint-Etienne youngster Arnaud Nordin charged through the left-hand side of the Monaco defence after setting off from inside his own half, but his final effort lacked the pace to trouble Subasic.

Jordan Veretout then skipped beyond Subasic follow-ing Henri Saivet's through ball, but Poland international Kamil Glik recovered in time to deny

the on-loan Aston Villa midfielder.

Germain, who was with the club in 2011 when Monaco were languishing at the foot of the sec-ond divison, should have sealed the victory on 74 minutes when Mbappe slid the ball across only for him to shin wide with Ruff-ier well out of the picture.

But he made amends deep into stoppage time as Thomas Lemar sprang a counter-attack that left Germain with the sim-plest of tap-ins to complete a memorable evening.

"We've had a superb season both individually and collec-tively. I think we fully deserve it," said Germain.

"This year we've been uncompromising. You have to congratulate the whole group and especially everyone in the ground who was magnificent tonight."

1997-98 Racing Lens

1998-99 Girondins Bordeaux

1999-00 Monaco

2000-01 Nantes

2001-02 Olympique Lyon

2002-03 Olympique Lyon

2003-04 Olympique Lyon

2004-05 Olympique Lyon

2005-06 Olympique Lyon

2006-07 Olympique Lyon

2007-08 Olympique Lyon

2008-09 Girondins Bordeaux

2009-10 Olympique de Marseille

2010-11 Lille

2011-12 Montpellier

2012-13 Paris St Germain

2013-14 Paris St Germain

2014-15 Paris St Germain

2015-16 Paris St Germain

2016-17 Monaco

LIGUE 1 CHAMPIONS SINCE 1997-98

We can finally say we are champions. I'm very proud of this team, of these players. It's a dream for me, I'm very happy: Monaco captain Radamel Falcao

Monaco Portuguese coach Leonardo Jardim celebrates at the end of their last French L1 match against St Etienne (ASSE) on Wednesday.

FA approves retrospective ban for diving

McGregor signs deal to fight Mayweather

London Reuters

Players will face a two-match retrospective ban for diving from the

start of next season after the English Football Association (FA) approved a new rule to combat simulation in an annual general meeting yesterday.

Under the new regulations, incidents involving players who deceive a match official into awarding their team a penalty or sending off an oppo-nent can be reviewed by a three-man independent panel.

"This process would be similar to the one used now for a red card offence (violent conduct/serious foul play/spitting at an opponent) which was not seen at the time by the match officials but caught on camera," the FA said in a statement.

The FA will only be able to impose the ban if the pan-el's decision is unanimous. "Should a charge of 'Success-ful Deception of a Match Official' be admitted or found proven, the Independent Reg-ulatory Commission will have the power to rescind the cau-tion or dismissal received by the opposing player as a result of the simulation if it chooses to do so."

Meanwhile, the Swedish Football Federation post-poned yesterday's top-flight game between Gothenburg and AIK following a match-fixing attempt.

"This is a very serious attack against Swedish foot-ball and we will never, never accept this," Hakan Sjostrand, secretary general of the fed-eration, said in a statement.

One of AIK's players had been offered "a large sum of money" in exchange for try-ing to ensure that the team lose the game against rivals Gothenburg, the statement said.

New York Reuters

The long-rumoured bout between undefeated Amer-

ican boxing champion Floyd Mayweather (pic-tured below) and mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor is half-way to becoming a reality after the Irish signed a deal for the fight, it was announced on Wednesday night.

UFC President Dana White broke the news during a television inter-view for TNT following the NBA’s Eastern Con-ference Finals matchup.

"The McGregor side is done, I'm starting to work on the Mayweather side now," White said. "I've got one side done. If we can come to a deal (with Mayweather) the fight will happen."

McGregor confirmed the deal in a statement released to Themaclife.com.

"The first, and most important part of this historic contract has now officially been signed off on. Congratulations to all parties involved. We now await Al Haymon and his boxer’s signature in the coming days," the state-ment read.

Terms of the deal were not announced.

McGregor, 28, is the biggest pay-per-view draw in UFC’s mixed martial arts while the 40-year-old May-weather retired in 2015 with a 49-0 record.

The two sides have been exchanging verbal spats and challenges for several months.

The proposed bout would be straight boxing match.

Berchelt faces Miura in super feather title twin bill

Los Angeles AFP

World super feather-weight boxing champions Miguel

Berchelt and Jezreel Corrales will defend their crowns in a July 15 fight card offering Japan's Takashi Miura a chance to regain his crown.

Mexico's Berchelt, 31-1 with 28 knockouts, will defend the World Boxing Council title against manda-tory challenger Miura, 31-3 with two drawn and 24 knockouts.

Miura, stopped by Fran-cisco Vargas in November 2015 to surrender the WBC crown, comes off a January knockout of Mexico's Miguel Roman on the undercard of the bout in which Berchelt stopped Vargas in the 11th round to lift the title.

"I took on this challenge because I only want to fight the best," Berchelt said.

La Liga: Ronaldo double puts Real on verge of titleBarcelona Reuters

An insatiable Cristiano Ron-aldo fired Real Madrid to a 4-1 win over Celta Vigo

on Wednesday to take Zinedine Zidane's side three points clear at the top of La Liga and within touching distance of winning a first league title in a period of five years.

Real top the standings on 90 points meaning they need just one point from their remaining league game at Malaga on Sunday to finish ahead of Barcelona and lift a

first title since Jose Mourinho's 2012 success.

Ronaldo lashed into the near corner from outside the area to put Real in charge in the 10th minute with a goal that moved him ahead of former England striker Jimmy Greaves as the all-time leading scorer in Europe's top five leagues on 367 goals.

The prolific Portuguese doubled his and Real's tally in the 48th minute by latching onto a through ball from the impressive Isco and tucking it in off the near post to take Madrid closer still to a 33rd league success.

Celta's Iago Aspas was later sent off for a second booking for diving although the home side briefly clawed their way back into the match when John Gui-detti's deflected strike looped over Keylor Navas in the 69th minute.

Karim Benzema quickly extinguished any comeback hopes by nudging home a Marcelo cutback from close range and the Frenchman and Ronaldo each wasted chances late on to add to the scoring before Toni Kroos knocked in the fourth in the 88th minute of the match.

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his goal against Celta Vigo on Wednesday.

Rizwan RehmatThe Peninsula

There could be no bigger football stage than this in Qatar: Doha giants Al Sadd taking on the game's powerhouse

and arch-rivals Al Rayyan in the final of the Emir Cup is what every fan has been waiting for since the event began last month.

Coached by Portuguese Jesu-aldo Ferreira, Al Sadd will look to add another title to their 15 Emir Cup trophies today when they hit the playing surface at Qatar's iconic sports venue, the

Khalifa International Stadium. Six-time champions Al

Rayyan, coached by popular Dane Michael Laudrup, are keen to end the season with a trophy after missing out on the Qatar Stars League and Qatar Cup.

Laudrup's boys will also look to stop Al Sadd - the Qatar Cup champions - from winning their second major tournament of the season.

A full-house is expected at the refurbished Khalifa International Stadium and battles within a bat-tle are certain to entertain those watching the proceedings from the comfort of their living rooms.

Al Sadd will be captained by Barca legend Xavi Hernandez while his counterpart and feared striker Rodrigo Tabata is set to lead his team today at Qatar's first 2022 FIFA World Cup stadium.

Ageless Xavi, who guided the Wolves to Qatar Cup glory last month, has been in the best form for Al Sadd in two years, scoring 10 goals and assisting in 16 other strikes this season.

Former Espanyol striker Ser-gio Garcia is set to renew his La Liga rivalry with Xavi while Al Sadd striker Hassan Al Haydos will be keen to exhibit the kind of form that makes him a certainty in all Qatar national team matches.

Al Rayyan's veteran forward Sebastian Soria would look to per-haps wind up his distinguished career with the Emir Cup glory.

Al Sadd's Algerian forward Baghdad Bounedjah - who struck four goals in his team's 4-0 rout of Al Kharaitiyat in the quarter-finals - could be the key for Ferreira's men.

Tabata, the Qatar national team striker, yesterday said his team could realistically end the 2016-17 football season with a trophy.

"I trust my team to do well. We can play at a good level. God Willing we will win," the 35-year-old striker warned Al Sadd.

"It is a new game. We are keen to play in this final. I can say 100 times that this is the game we want to win. We are proud to have reached the final. It will be a fan-tastic game but also a tough clash as Al Sadd is a strong side," he added.

Al Rayyan coach Laudrup, who helped Lekhwiya win the QSL title two years ago, admitted his team was treating the one-off

game as the season's biggest battle.

"Tomorrow is a big final. For every player or coach, a Cup final is huge. It is a one-off game. You can have the trophy if you win this one game. A lot is riding on one game," Laudrup said yesterday.

"I can assure that we will do everything from our side to make this a great game for us. Winning the trophy means a lot to this club and to our fans."

"You have to show good form and in the last game, we beat the QSL champions (Lekhwiya). It was a very tough game. Now we are here," Laudrup said.

"It will be the first time we will play at this fantastic venue. Eve-rybody is looking forward to this

football game. We expect a lot of fans coming in. It is up to us, the two teams need to make a great game," Laudrup said.

"We can plan as much as we like before the game but it is these guys (points to Tabata) and the three others on the bench who have to deal with it. I can't say who will play or not but we just have to be ready. You can always change a little tactic-wise," the 52-year-old said.

Ferreira, the Al Sadd coach, said yesterday: "The final is going to be one of the best games of the season. It is important for both teams since the two sides are very popular among the fans. The two teams have big number of fans."

He added: "We are only going

to play to win. We have nothing else on our minds. We are going to step on the pitch thinking of winning this title. Al Sadd team deserves to be in the final. They did really well dur-ing the entire season by playing attractive football."

Al Sadd striker Al Haydos said: "This is an important game for us. The team is ready to close the sea-son with another trophy. Winning means we will play in the AFC Champions League (next year)."

The final kicks off at 7.00pm while the fan zone activities will begin at least two hours before the start of the final, organisers said yesterday.

The stadium gates will be thrown open to the public at 3.30pm.

18 FRIDAY 19 MAY 2017SPORT

Clash of the titans as Al Sadd,Al Rayyan eye Emir Cup glory

Emir Cup FinalCoached by Portuguese Jesualdo Ferreira, Al Sadd eye their 16th Emir Cup title

The stadium gates will be open to the public from 3.30pm.

Six-time champions Al Rayyan, coached by popular Dane Michael Laudrup, are keen to end the season with a trophy

A full house is expected at the refurbished Khalifa International Stadium.

Al Sadd (left) and Al Rayyan team officials display their jerseys ahead of today's Emir's Cup final which will be played at the Khalifa International Stadium.

Al Sadd coach Jesualdo Ferreira

Al Sadd players in action during a practice session on the eve of their Emir Cup final against Al Rayyan.

Al Rayyan's striker Rodrigo Tabata (right) attends a training session with team-mates ahead of the Emir Cup final.Pictures: Baher Amin

Al Rayyan's coach Michael Laudrup (left) during a training session yesterday.

Doha QNA

Al Sadd midfielder and former Barcelona maestro Xavi Hern-andez has expressed his delight

to play at the Khalifa International Stadium in the Emir's Cup final against Al Rayyan today.

The Khalifa International Stadium is the first stadium that has been com-pleted ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

He said that he is excited about the final game on this stadium, not-ing that Qatar is doing well as the first stadium has been completed for the World Cup.

The best players in the world will come here in 2022, Al Sadd star said, adding that this should moti-vate the youth to develop and to provide a good World Cup.

Xavi also expressed his pleasure with the performance of his team, pointing out that wanted to trans-fer Barcelona's way of playing to Al Sadd.

Moreover, the Spanish played expressed his happiness for the big season he presented on a personal level and said that he was surprised that he scored 10 goals and assisted in 16 more goals, although he is 37 years old. He also said that he enjoys football in Qatar.

19FRIDAY 19 MAY 2017 SPORT

Barca legend Xavi excited ahead of final1972/73 : Al Ahli 6-1 Al Rayyan1973/74 : Al Esteqlal 2-1 Al Sadd1974/75 : Al Sadd 4-3 Al Ahli1975/76 : Al Esteqlal 4-3 Al Arabi1976/77 : Al Sadd 1-0 Al Rayyan1977/78 : Al Arabi 5-1 Al Wakrah 1978/79 : Al Arabi 3-1 Al Wakrah 1979/80 : Al Arabi 2-1 Al Khor1980/81 : Al Ahli 2-1 Qatar SC1981/82 : Al Sadd 2-1 Al-Rayyan1982/83 : Al Arabi 1-0 Al Sadd1983/84 : Al Arabi 3-2 Al Ahli1984/85 : Al Sadd 2-1 Al Ahli1985/86 : Al Sadd 2-0 Al Arabi1986/87 : Al Ahli 2-0 Al Sadd1987/88 : Al Sadd 4-3 Al Wakrah 1988/89 : Al Arabi 2-0 Qatar SC1989/90 : Al Arabi 3-0 Al Wakrah1990/91 : Al Sadd 1-0 Al Rayyan1991/92 : Al Ahli 2-1 Al Rayyan1992/93 : Al Arabi 3-0 Al Sadd1993/94 : Al Sadd 3-2 Al Arabi1994/95 : Al Ittihad 2-1 Al Wakrah 1995/96 : Al Ittihad 5-2 Al Rayyan1996/97 : Al Ittihad 1-1 Al Rayyan (3-2 pens)1997/98 : Al Ittihad 4-3 Al Ahli1998/99 : Al Rayyan 2-1 Al Gharrafa1999/00 : Al Sadd 2-0 Al Rayyan2000/01 : Al Sadd 3-2 Qatar SC2001/02 : Al Ittihad 4-1 Al Sadd2002/03 : Al Sadd 2-1 Al Ahli2003/04 : Al Rayyan 3-2 Qatar SC2004/05 : Al Sadd 0-0 Al Wakrah (5-4 pen)2005/06 : Al Rayyan 1-1 Al Gharafa (5-3 pen)2006/07 : Al Sadd 0-0 Al Khor (5-4 pen)2007/08: Umm Salal 2-2 Al Gharafa (4-1 pen)2009 : Al Gharafa 2-1 Al Rayyan2010 : Al Rayyan 1-0 Umm Salal Sports Club2011 : Al Rayyan 2-1 Al-Gharafa2012 : Al Gharafa 0-0 Al Sadd (5-4 pen)2013 : Al Rayyan 2-1 Al Sadd 2014 : Al Sadd 3-0 Al Sailiyah2015 : Al Sadd 2-1 El Jaish2016 : Lekhwiya 2-2 Al Sadd (4-2 pen)

The Peninusla

Al Rayyan made it to the final with a 3-1 win over Lekhwiya in the semi-final following an outstand-

ing double by Qatar international Rodrigo Tabata.

In a feisty contest, Tabata found the net twice (81 and 90 +1) after Musaab Kheder opened the scoring for the former champions in the 65th minute.

Tabata was declared Man of the Match for his impressive run of form.

For Lekhwiya, the Qatar Stars League (QSL) champions, the only goal was scored by Youseff Msekni in the 78th minute at the Al Sadd Stadium.

Tabata curled in a well-taken direct free-kick for his opening goal.

For his second strike, Tabata received a pass from team-mate inside the Lekhwiya box before he calmly slot-ted the ball past Lekhwiya goal-keeper Qassim Burhan.

L e k h w i -y a ’ s M o r o c c a n striker Mse-kni also s c o r e d from close r a n g e , deflecting a low ball past Al R a y y a n goalkeeper Omer Barry.

Al Rayyan’s Al Khodor also showed sharp presence of mind when he slotted the ball past Burhan for his team’s opening goal in the 65th minute.

Tabata behind Al Rayyan's success story

(81 and 90 +1) after Musaab pened the scoring for the ampions in the 65th minute.a was declared Man of thehis impressive run of form.ekhwiya, the Qatar StarsQSL) champions, the onlyscored by Youseff Mseknith minute at the Al Sadd

a curled in a well-taken -kick for his opening

s second strike, eceived a pass

m-mate inside hwiya boxcalmly slot-ball past

a goal-assim

w i -s

a nse-o

d

nerry.

yyan’sor alsoarp presence of mind

slotted the ball pastr his team’s openinge 65th minute.

Bounedjah, star ofthe day for Al Sadd

HOW THEY REACHED THE

EMIR CUP FINAL

The Peninsula

Goals by strikers Baghdad Bounedjah and Hassan Al Haydos last Sunday

guided former champions Al Sadd to a 2-0 win over El Jaish as the Doha football giants sealed their Emir Cup final berth in convincing fashion.

Following a goalless first half, Algerian striker Bounedjah on Sunday scored the opening goal in the 47th minute while Al Haydos doubled Al Sadd’s home delight by firing the second goal in the 76th minute.

After receiving a neat ball from the right flank, Bounedjah deflected a low ball past Lekhwiya goalkeeper with a first-attempt volley at Al Sadd Stadium.

Al Haydos, who is nomi-nated as one of three players for the Player of the Year award, turned in a solo run past a host of Lekhwiya defenders before slotting the ball into the net with left-footed flourish.

QUARTERFINALS:

Al Sadd beat Al Kharaitiyat 4-1

Al Rayyan beat Al Gharafa 2-1

SEMIFINALS:

Al Sadd beat El Jaish 2-0

Al Rayyan beat Lekhwiya 3-1

AL SADD is the team with most number of Emir Cup title wins:

Al Sadd won in 1975, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007,

2014 and 2015.

AL RAYYAN have won the title 6 times in 1999, 2004, 2006,

2010, 2011 and 2013.

We have to finish the season with a win: Al Rayyan star

PAST CHAMPIONS

Al Rayyan's striker Rodrigo Tabata

The Peninsula

Al Rayyan's Khaled Al Zekiba is hoping his team finishes the football sea-son in spectacular fashion by winning the Emir Cup

title today. "We are not going to miss out on

this tournament. It is the last day for us this season," Khaled said.

"We have to finish the season with the title, that's how we are feel-ing at the moment," the 30-year-old defender added.

"We are confident because we have put in great efforts so far. It has been a diff icult season.

This tournament will be the least possible chance for us to win a tro-phy," he said.

"We want to do this for the fans who stand behind us," he said.

"The fans won't be happy if we don't win a title and that's a great motivation for us," Khaled said.

"I hope our fans turn out in huge numbers. They are the force behind us doing well," he said.

"With fans roaring from the stands is what the players want to see. Their support gives us confi-dence. And yes, we can beat Al Sadd in the final," he added.

Meanwhile Abdelmajid Anad of Al Rayyan was delighted to see out

his suspension and said he was ready for the final.

"I am happy that I am available for selection," Anad said. "This is the Emir Cup final, a game you don't want to miss," he added.

"It feels great to be training with my team-mates. I look forward to playing the final in front of the Emir. My team-mates are also in confident mood," Anad said.

"Al Rayyan will meet a strong team in the final, but with the enthu-siasm and strength of the fans we can overcome the Al Sadd," Anad said.

"This is the trophy that Al Rayyan fans want. The fans are out strength," he said.