Al Sadd last won the tournament in 2021

Hassan Al-Haydos, Akram Afif and Ayoub El Kaabi bounded Al Sadd into a dominating 3-1 performance that eliminated Umm Salal to reach the Amir Cup semi-finals.

Umm Salal’s Yaseen Al Bakhit gifted in a lone goal in the second half, but it was too little too late as the performance of the Al Saad superstars sealed the victory.

Al-Haydos clutched a bottomless free kick inside the net of Umm Salal’s goalkeeper Khalifa Ababaca before Afif scored the second goal for his squad in the 56th minute.

A falsified defence fringed Umm Salal at a disadvantage even though Al Bakhit’s goal drew the game to a 2-1 advantage before El Kaabi headed in the last and final goal of the match.

Umm Salal’s lack of defence and foul trouble also pushed the team to defeat as Adil Rhaili was sent off for his second yellow card in the match, leaving the squad with ten on the pitch.

Al Sadd will now meet the dark horse team and Second Division side Al Shahania in the semi-final on 24 April.

Al Shahania’s campaign into the Amir Cup has been deemed a Cinderella story as the team took down Al Gharafa 4-3 on penalties to advance to the semi-finals.

The triumph added to coach Alvaro Mejia’s growing resume, as it would be another win over two first-division teams so far in the season for Al Shahania.