Al Ahli lift Arabian Gulf Cup as Makhete Diop double downs Al Shabab

Makhete Diop, centre, celebrates with teammates after scoring in the Arabian Gulf Cup final against Al Shabab. Al Ahli won the match 2-0. Ashraf Al Amra / Aletiha

Arabian Gulf Cup final:

Al Ahli 2 Al Shabab 0

Ahli: Diop (5', 77')

Al Ahli managed to get their hands on the Arabian Gulf Cup on Saturday night to put a smile back on the faces of their fans and manager Cosmic Olaroiu.

The Dubai club overcame their neighbours Al Shabab 2-0 at Al Maktoum Stadium to help ease the pain of their imminent surrendering of the Arabian Gulf League title to champions-elect Al Jazira.

With only five minutes on the clock, Ahli opened the scoring when Makhete Diop got on the end of a delivery from Everton Ribeiro. The Senegalese striker shook off his marker before unleashing a low drive into the bottom corner.

Shabab showed their hunger to deprive Ahli of the silverware on the 30-minute mark when Mohammed Marzooq almost capitalised from close range, only to be denied by goalkeeper Majed Naser at his near post.

Ten minutes before the break, Ahmed Khalil almost doubled Ahli’s lead but saw his fine effort from a free kick 30 yards out beaten away by Shabab keeper Salem Abdullah.

Five minutes later, it was Ribeiro’s turn to have a go, but his shot was blocked by Abdullah.

Marwan Darwish had his name taken by the referee for a late challenge on Ribeiro before Khalil was again denied by Abdullah.

The Ahli fans were the more content at the interval as their side had the advantage and the dominance.

Shabab were by no means out of it and Azizbek Haydarov shot over from the edge of the area shortly after the restart.

Tempers began to fray as the tackles — and elbows — flew in and Diop had to be calmed down by his teammates before being ordered to the touchline so Olaroiu could have a quiet word with him to keep his cool.

Ahli seemed content to sit on their led and pass the ball around without much urgency as Shabab struggled to keep possession.

The men in green opted more and more for long balls that were more hopeful than inspired and were mopped up by the Ahli backline.

Diop had the ball in the net after 59 minutes but the referee’s whistle had already blown for a foul on the goalkeeper.

Musicians played their part to entertain the crowd as the action on the pitch dissipated, another long ball rolling harmlessly out of play to illustrate the point.

Ribeiro tried his best to spark the game into life but a long-range shot drifted over the bar with 20 minutes to go.

Abdullah Khalifa almost threw a cat amongst the pigeons when his deflected shot nearly caught out Naser, but the keeper averted the danger.

Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan then came on for Khalil after 72 minutes as Ahli looked to find the killer second goal.

Ribeiro was booked as the card-count rose, the Brazilian somewhat lucky to avoid further punishment for what looked like a raised elbow in an off-the-ball incident.

Gyan missed a great chance to seal the match as he failed to connect with a cross while unmarked in the penalty area.

Instead, his fellow frontman Diop ensured Ahli would be the victors when he tapped home from close range after a lovely chipped through ball from Abdulaziz Sanqour.

In the end, Ahli deserved their win and those smiles were still evident long after they lifted the trophy.

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