Al Ahli beat Shabab 5-3 on spot kicks

Dubai: Basheer Saeed struck the winning penalty as Al Ahli beat Shabab 5-3 on spot kicks in the Etisalat Cup final at Al Nasr’s Maktoum Stadium on Monday night.

Al Shabab took the lead against the run of play on nine minutes after Kieza Almeida, running in from the middle of the box, dived low to get his head on the end of Ciel Ferreira’s free kick from the right.

This had followed a shaky start by Al Shabab whereby Grafite had had a first and sixth minute shot and header plucked to safety by keeper Salem Abdullah.

Kieza then headed an identical effort - again from Ciel on the right - just over the crossbar on the stroke of half-time.

Al Ahli mimicked Shabab’s actions on 49 minutes when Luis Jimenez’ free kick from the right, headed in low by Basheer Saeed, was spilled out by the keeper.

Grafite then had a goal disallowed on 55 minutes when his back-heeled tap-in from a Jimenez shot just inside the area was ruled offside.

Al Ahli eventually equalized via a Grafite penalty on 72 minutes, firing left, after Waleed Abbas was ruled to have pulled Yousuf Mohammad’s shirt inside the box.

Ahli could have added a quick second on 85 minutes had Yousuf Mohammad’s header from a Jimenez free kick on the right ballooned fractionally lower of the bar.

Tied at 1-1 the game went to extra-time, but with the deadlock still not broken after an additional 30 minutes of play penalties loomed.

With Jimenez, Emana, Ahmad Ali, Grafite and Basheer Saeed all converting, Shabab were made to pay only for Adel Abdullah’s first miss. Shabab converted the rest via Keiza, Haydarov and Eisa Mohammad but Basheer Saeed’s fifth, placed confidently to the right put the title beyond Shabab’s reach and handed Al Ahli their first silverware since 2009.