Al Sadd recorded a 2-0 victory over Al Rayyan in the first semifinal of Emir Cup on Saturday.

Ali Asad and Baghdad Bounedjah scored the goals in the 12th and 84th minute respectively.

Al Sadd will take on the winners of Al Duhail vs Al Sailiya match at the new Al Wakrah Stadium in the final on 16th May. It is one of the eight venues of 2022 FIFA World Cup and will be inaugurated the same day.

The second semifinal will be played on Sunday night, also at the Al Sadd Stadium.

The Wolves thus remained in contention for a double, having won the QNB Stars League.

Al Sadd were the favourites to win the match, but Al Rayyan proved worthy opponents with a determined display, defending stoutly and creating a few scoring opportunities only to be let down by poor finishing.

But there was no doubting Al Sadd’s overall superiority, and when their forwards Akram Afif and Bounedjah had the ball inside the rival penalty area, they always looked dangerous.

After a few dramatic minutes, Al Sadd scored through Ali, with Spanish midfield master Xavi Hernandez doing the spadework. He found Akram who then set up Ali whose shot went past Al Rayyan goalkeeper Fahd Younis.

Al Sadd then got a penalty when Bounedjah was fouled by Dame Traore. However, Fahd saved the shot taken by the Algerian striker himself, who was the QNB Stars League’s top scorer with 39 goals.

After Al Sadd missed some chances, Bounedjah was on target towards the end as he completed a good run.

Al Rayyan tried hard to score, but were unsuccessful, with Sebastian Soria and Lucca Borges missing opportunities.