The 2014 AFC Cup final was the final of the 2014 AFC Cup, the 11th edition of the AFC Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "developing countries" in Asia.
The final was contested as a single match between Iraqi team Erbil and Kuwaiti team Al-Qadsia. The match was hosted by Erbil at the Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai on 18 October 2014, as teams from Iraq were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.
Al-Qadsia defeated Erbil 4–2 on penalties after a 0–0 draw, to win their first AFC Cup title after losing in the previous year's final.
Venue The Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the home stadium of Al-Shabab and holds 18,000 spectators.
Background Erbil qualified for the 2014 AFC Cup group stage as the 2012–13 Iraqi Elite League runners-up. This was their fifth appearance in the AFC Cup.
Al-Qadsia qualified for the 2014 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off as the 2012–13 Kuwaiti Premier League runners-up and the 2013 AFC Cup runners-up, but failed to advance to the AFC Champions League group stage, and entered the AFC Cup group stage. This was their fifth appearance in the AFC Cup.
Both teams had reached the AFC Cup final before but neither has won the title. Erbil lost to Al-Kuwait in 2012, while Al-Qadsia lost to Al-Ittihad in 2010 and to Al-Kuwait in 2013.
Since 2009 when Kuwaiti clubs first entered the AFC Cup, this was the sixth straight single-match final that feature a team from Kuwait.
Road to final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
ErbilRound Al-QadsiaAFC CupQualifying play-offAFC Champions LeagueOpponentResultOpponentResultByeRound 1 Al-Suwaiq1–0 (A)Round 2 Baniyas4–0 (A)Round 3 El Jaish0–3 (A)AFC CupOpponentResultGroup stageOpponentResult Shabab Al-Ordon3–1 (A)Matchday 1 Al-Shorta0–0 (A) Alay Osh6–0 (H)Matchday 2 Al-Hidd2–0 (H) Riffa1–2 (H)Matchday 3 Al-Wahda3–1 (A) Riffa3–0 (A)Matchday 4 Al-Wahda1–1 (H) Shabab Al-Ordon3–2 (H)Matchday 5 Al-Shorta3–0 (H) Alay Osh3–0 (A)Matchday 6 Al-Hidd2–3 (A)Group D winnerFinal standingsGroup C winnerOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legKnock-out stageOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd leg Al-Nejmeh0–0 (3–0 p) (H) (single match)Round of 16 That Ras4–0 (H) (single match) Hà Nội T&T3–01–0 (A)2–0 (H)Quarter-finals Al-Hidd3–3 (a)1–1 (H)2–2 (A) Kitchee3–21–1 (H)2–1 (A)Semi-finals Persipura Jayapura10–24–2 (H)6–0 (A)
Rules The final was played as a single match, with the host team decided by draw. If tied after regulation, extra time and, if necessary, penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner.
Match
GK 12 Jalal Hasan DF 3 Herdi Siamand DF 5 Ali Faez Atia DF 13 Ahmed Mohammed Hussein DF 32 Nadim Sabagh MF 7 Halgurd Mulla Mohammed MF 16 Miran Khesro MF 17 Nabeel Sabah MF 30 Víctor Ormazábal FW 10 Amjad Radhi FW 11 Luay Salah (c) Substitutes GK 21 Sarhang Muhsin DF 2 Burhan Jumaah DF 23 Kosrat Baiz Ali MF 9 Hawar Mulla Mohammed MF 20 Mohammed Khalid Jaffal Al-Jumaili MF 29 Barzan Sherzad MF 36 Hatem Zaidan Manager Ayoub Odisho GK 22 Nawaf Al Khaldi DF 6 Khaled Al Qahtani DF 18 Amer Al Fadhel DF 27 Álvaro Silva MF 8 Saleh Al Sheikh (c) MF 10 Saif Al Hashan MF 11 Fahad Al Ansari FW 14 Talal Al Amer FW 17 Bader Al-Mutawa FW 31 Danijel Subotić FW 36 Khalid El EbrahimSubstitutes GK 23 Ahmed Al Fahdli MF 4 Shehu Abdullahi MF 7 Hamad Aman MF 34 Ahmad Al Dhefiri FW 12 Sultan Al Enezi FW 15 Soud Al Mejmed FW 25 Dhari Said Manager Antonio Puche
AFC Man of the Match: Saif Al Hashan (Al-Qadsia)
Assistant referees: Kim Young-ah (South Korea) Yoon Kwang-Yeol (South Korea) Fourth official: Kim Sang-woo (South Korea)
References
External links AFC Cup, the-AFC.com