Abu Dhabi: Waleed Ali Juma's goal four minutes into extra time against Saudi Arabia helped Kuwait lift the 20th Gulf Cup in Aden, Yemen on Sunday.
With nearly 50,000 fans packing the 22nd May Stadium in Aden, the two teams fought tooth and nail before finishing the 90-minutes of regular time on a goalless note.
Saudi Arabia finished with ten men after Muhannad Aseri was given the marching orders in the 112th minute in a match that saw tempers fray a few times though the two teams shared exchanges for most of the match.
In the 94th minute, Kuwait launched a classy move on the right and Juma raced in to boot home the winner.
It is Kuwait's 10th win in the prestigious regional event while three-time winners Saudi Arabia had to stay content with the runners-up position. The two teams last met in the final of this event in 1974 and hosts Kuwait won 4-0.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia advanced from the same group with Kuwait topping the preliminary stage and they were the only unbeaten teams before the final.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Kuwait Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah attended the prize distribution ceremony.
Kuwaiti's Bader Al Mutawa won the Golden Boot award while Fahad Al Enezi was named ‘Best player of the tournament and the Golden Glove award went to Nawaf Al Khaldi. The two-week tournament, which started on November 22, featured Yemen, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, Oman and Qatar. The UAE, which had fielded a virtual second-string team advanced to the semifinals before being knocked out by Saudi Arabia through a solitary goal. The next Gulf Cup which will be held in 2013 is expected to take place in Basra, Iraq.
