Kuala Lumpur: After two editions of the AFC Cup teams from the West were already starting to establish a dominance, with Syria’s Al Jaish and Jordan’s Al Faisaly victorious in the first two campaigns, while sides from the East were yet to advance beyond the semi-finals.
And the same pattern was followed in 2006 when holders Al Faisaly again progressed to the final, where this time they would be up against Al Muharraq, the competition’s first representatives from Bahrain.
A Repeat of the Final
Al Faisaly’s first match in the defence of their title was against their opponents from the 2005 final, Lebanon’s Nejmeh, and a 2-0 victory ensured the Jordanians’ unbeaten run in the competition was maintained.
Four points from two matches against Turkmenistan’s HTTU confirmed qualification for the knockout stages with a game to spare, before Nejmeh inflicted a first-ever AFC Cup defeat for the holders by claiming a 2-1 victory in the final Group D fixture to progress as runners-up.
Debutants Delight
First up for Al Muharraq was a clash with Bangladesh’s Brothers Union Dhaka and a 2-0 win saw the Bahraini team get off to a winning start in Group A, before following up by defeating Lebanon’s Al Ahed with the same scoreline.
Al Muharraq then returned from a tricky trip to Dhaka with a goalless draw, but needed another 2-0 victory over Al Ahed to book their place in the quarter-finals at the first time of asking.
Scraping Through
A date with 2005 semi-finalists Sun Hei of Hong Kong was next up for Al Faisaly and a 1-1 home draw, thanks to Hatem Aqel’s second half equaliser, was not the ideal result prior to the long trip east.
Sun Hei then took the lead in the return fixture but Mo’ayyad Abu Keshak levelled on the hour and the game ultimately went to penalties, with the Jordanians winning 5-4 from the spot to progress by the narrowest of margins.
Al Muharraq, meanwhile, were paired with Oman’s Al Nasr as they were spared a grueling long away trip, and Brazilian Rico’s (pictured above) second of two goals saw the side from Riffa run out 3-2 winners in an exciting first-leg clash.
That goal would prove decisive as Al Nasr won 1-0 in Bahrain but were eliminated on away goals as Al Muharraq’s run continued into the semi-finals.
And Then There Were Four
The semi-finals were made up by teams from the West as Al Faisaly were drawn against countrymen Al Wehdat and Al Muharraq were tasked with 2005 runners-up Nejmeh.
Abdel Hadi Al Maharmeh’s early strike ensured the defending champions got the better of their Amman rivals in the first leg with a 1-0 victory, while Jaycee John scored 15 minutes from time to give Al Muharraq a 2-1 win in Beirut.
Al Faisaly fell a goal behind on 53 minutes in the second leg, but Abu Keshak was again the hero as he equalised midway through the second half to give his team a crucial away goal and ultimately a 2-1 aggregate win.
Tied 2-2 at the interval in the second leg, Al Muharraq’s semi-final was firmly in the balance but Rico’s penalty 15 minutes from time calmed any nerves, before Richard Massolin’s injury-time spot kick wrapped up a 4-2 win on the night to advance 6-3 on aggregate.
A Convincing Win
For the second successive year Amman International Stadium would host the first leg of the AFC Cup final as Al Faisaly looked to retain their title.
Seven thousand spectators witnessed a goalless first half, before the hosts put in a dominant second-half performance to ensure they travelled to Riffa with a commanding lead.
Al Maharmeh (pictured above) broke the deadlock on 54 minutes to delight the home support and Hussein Ziyad gave Al Faisaly breathing space shortly after.
A 3-0 win was then confirmed with Al Maharmeh’s double and, without an away goal conceded, the Jordanian side were firmly in the driving seat ahead of the second leg.
Quite the Fright
With Al Muharraq needing to win 3-0 just to force extra-time and by a four-goal margin to win the competition without the aid of penalties, the final appeared as good as over ahead of the second leg.
A glimmer of hope was provided when Abdullah Omar put the home side in front on 18 minutes but Haidar Abdul-Amir equalised before the interval to surely eliminate any doubt.
Three goals inside 10 second-half minutes, though, put Al Muharraq 4-1 up on the night and levelled the tie at 4-4 on aggregate with 30 minutes still remaining to set up a thrilling climax.
With the game into added time, Al Faisaly’s Siraj Al Tall netted the winner as the Jordanians retained their title with a 5-4 aggregate win after one of the most exciting AFC Cup finals ever witnessed.
Photos: Getty Images
Source: the-afc.com