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| AFC Champions League |
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| Umm Salal deny Al Gharafa double |
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| Umm Salal celebrate their 4-1 penalty shootout victory over AFC Champions League qualifiers Al Gharafa. (AFP) |
DOHA – Qatar champions Al Gharafa were denied a league and cup double when they were defeated 4-1 on penalties by Umm Salal in the final of the 2008 Emir’s Cup on Thursday.
With the game locked at 2-2 after extra-time the final went into a penalty shootout and it was Umm Salal keeper Imad Al Shammari who emerged the hero, denying Algerian defender Ahmed Reda Madouni and skipper Saad Al Shammari to give this season’s surprise package their first major title.
The loan signing of Maurito form AFC Champions League qualifiers Kuwait Sports Club, proved to be a masterstroke from Umm Salal coach Laurent Banide, with the Angolan international scoring twice for the underdogs.
Maurito, who has also played in the UAE with Al Wahda and Al Jazira, levelled the match just after the half-hour mark, cancelling out Mustafa Abidi’s 15th minute opener.
Maurito put Umm Salal 2-1 up five minutes after the interval only for Iraq’s 2007 AFC Cup-winning captain Younis Mahmoud to head home the equaliser just six minutes later.
Al Gharafa will be hoping to put the Emir’s Cup disappointment behind them as they look to bow out of the AFC Champions League on a winning note when they take on Pakhtakor in their final Group D match on Wednesday.
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