Al Nasr advanced to the Arabian Gulf Cup final, as they beat Ittihad Kalba 7-6 on penalties after the tie ended 3-3 on aggregate following a 2-1 win for Al Nasr at Ittihad Kalba Stadium on Tuesday.
The hosts entered the game on the front foot thanks to their 2-1 advantage from the first leg at Al Maktoum Stadium.
There were few real chances to shout about in the first 10 minutes of the game, with the best probably coming from Peniel Mlapa who dribbled past Al Nasr’s defence before striking a weak effort straight at Al Nasr keeper Ahmed Shambih.
Ittihad Kalba keeper Jamal Abdulla was called into action in the 19th minute when he palmed away Toze’s free-kick.
Ryan Mendes put Al Nasr ahead in the 39th minute to revive the visitors' hope of achieving a comeback. Diaa Saba’s free-kick bounced back off the crossbar before the Cape Verdean forward pounced on the rebound, heading home the opening goal.
Saba wasted a glorious chance to double the Blues’ lead when his close-range strike hit the woodwork three minutes before the break. He got his name onto the score sheet two minutes later as he fired a powerful long-range effort into the back of the net, leaving keeper Abdulla helpless and handing Al Nasr a 3-2 aggregate advantage ahead of the second half.
Saba came close to scoring a second goal five minutes after the restart, but his long-range went inches away from goal.
The Tigers piled pressure on Al Nasr defence and had two great chances to score. Just after the one-hour mark, Ahmed Amer’s right-footed drive was parried away by Shambih, before Abdul Salam Mohamed headed narrowly wide.
After reviewing the VAR, Ittihad Kalba were awarded a penalty for a foul by Mohamed Ayed. In-form forward Peniel Mlapa stepped up and converted from the spot to tie the score at 3-3 on aggregate and send the game to a penalty shootout.
Al Nasr emerged victorious with a 7-6 win on penalties to advance to the Arabian Gulf Cup final for the second time in a row and third time in their history. They will set up a final clash on April 6th with the winner from the other semi-final between Shabab Al Ahli and Al Wasl.
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