Ali Thameem
Club Eighty Four FC has knocked out Club MTCC on penalties, following a late turnaround in the King’s Cup quarterfinal game tonight.
The game saw a 1:1 draw at fulltime. MTCC had taken the lead in the very first minute of the game via a strike from Ismail Wajeeh.
The Group A winners MTCC had been the highest scoring team of the tournament until tonight. Their failure to capitalize on the early lead saw Club Eighty Four take the advantage towards the end of the second half, as Ahmed Husaam equalized from a kick-in.
With a few seconds remaining, the game was halted after Eighty Four FC’s coach was injured following a collision with MTCC’s Brazilian player Nattan Soares on the sideline. After reviewing the incident, the referee showed a red card to Soares.
MTCC were unlucky in the penalty shootout that followed. Saamin hit the crossbar, and Ali Shiyah hit the left post of the goal. Eighty Four FC, on the other hand, successfully converted all their penalty kicks.
MTCC and Eighty Four FC both competed in the same group. Their clash in the group stage had ended with MTCC winning with a 2-0 lead. The third-placed team from the group, Eighty Four went on to escape into the knock out stage with a sole win against HPSN – they were among the two best third-placed teams.
Eighty Four FC will take on The Hawks on Friday night’s semifinals.
