Rajab

Qatar Soccer

One whistle, just one whistle from the referee, and Al-Sadd Football Stadium broke into an explosion of joy as Qatar’s heroic footballers clinched the last gold medal of Doha 2006. Their ecstatic maroon-shirted players, players who have dreamed of being crowned the best in Asia, can now make that boast. They stand alone, heroes to the State of Qatar and all who have taken this most fantastic of Asian Games to their hearts.

It was a fairytale ending to the Games hosts, winning the men's football gold for the first time by beating Iraq 1-0 on Friday 15 December – the last day of Doha 2006.

Mohammed Bilal Rajab was the hero, scoring the only goal after 62 minutes of a match Qatar dominated from start to finish. In front of an expectant crowd at Al-Sadd, Qatar attacked from the off and missed a number of chances before the crucial breakthrough came.

In-form Sebastian Quintana went close to adding to his four goals in the competition after only six minutes. The striker connected with a header from a corner but saw it pushed on to the bar by Iraq goalkeeper Mohammed Khadum.

Ali Nasser Saleh dragged a shot wide from 20 yards and Khalfan Ibrahi Al Khalfan tricked his way past two players but failed to deliver a telling cross from the right wing.

On 32 minutes Qatar went close again when Rajab was left unmarked in the penalty area but could not connect properly with his header.

With seconds to go before the half time whistle, Quintana took a ball on the left and sent two defenders the wrong way as he cut inside to open up an ambitious shooting opportunity. But the tall forward, too intent on shooting, kept his head down and failed to see an unmarked teammate in a much better position on the edge of the box.

Quintana let fly…and the ball went out for a throw. Referee Hiroyoshi Takayama blew the whistle, and Qatar trooped off for their half-time team talk with missed chances on their minds.

It was the same story shortly after half time as Quintana hooked the ball over after Hussain Ya Abdulrahman had crossed well from the right flank.

It looked like it was going to be one of those frustrating days for Qatar but then came the moment the home fans had waited for. Qatar's fourth corner of the match was flicked on at the near post and Rajab was in the right place to head past Khadum from four yards out – although how much he knew about it was confirmed as TV replays showed he was looking the other way when he scored.

But fortune favours the brave, and it was no more than Qatar deserved. The players, led by striker Hussain Yaser, rushed to hug their Bosnian coach Dzemaludin Musovic as joy erupted around the stadium.

Qatar almost added a second just minutes after but Quintana's effort was ruled out for offside. Quintana then fired narrowly wide but the miss proved to not be crucial as Iraq, looking jaded in their ninth match of the competition, failed to carve open any attacking opportunities.

The home team's defence, marshalled superbly by captain Abdulla Obaid Koni, were rarely under threat and Qatar saw out the remainder of the match comfortably as the crowd chanted "olé, olé olé olé" in anticipation of the win. Whistles from the crowd as they begged for the end were answered by referee Hiroyoshi Takayama, who raised the whistle to his lips and sparked scenes of jubilation on the sidelines and in the stands as Qatar won their ninth gold of Doha 2006 and their first ever in football.

Copyright © 2006 fanh.com                  Powered by Engineer Partner one stop outsource