2019 AFC Cup Final

The 2019 AFC Cup Final was the final match of the 2019 AFC Cup, the 16th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[2]

2019 AFC Cup Final
Event2019 AFC Cup
April 25 Al-Ahed
0 1
Date4 November 2019 (2019-11-04)
VenueKuala Lumpur Stadium, Kuala Lumpur
Man of the MatchIssah Yakubu (Al-Ahed)[1]
RefereeHettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)[1]
Attendance500[1]
WeatherMostly clear
27 °C (81 °F)[1]

The final was contested as a single match between April 25 from North Korea and Al-Ahed from Lebanon. The match was played at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on 4 November 2019.

Al-Ahed won 1–0 by a goal from Ghanaian player Issah Yakubu. This was Al-Ahed's first continental title, as well as the first for a Lebanese team.[3] April 25 became the first North Korean men's football club to qualify for an Asian final,[4] while Al-Ahed were the third Lebanese side to do so (after Nejmeh in 2005 and Safa in 2008).[3]

Teams
Team Zone Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
April 25 East Asia Zone (EAFF)
(Inter-zone play-off winner)		 None
Al-Ahed West Asia Zone (WAFF) None

Venue

The match was originally to be hosted by April 25 at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea on 2 November 2019. However, on 22 October 2019, due to North Korea's decision to ban television transmission of football games, the AFC announced that the final would be held in Shanghai, China in order for the match to be transmitted.[5][6] On 25 October 2019, the match was rescheduled from 2 November to 4 November and the host city was shifted from Shanghai to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[7]

Road to the final
Further information: 2019 AFC Cup

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

April 25 Round Al-Ahed
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
Hang Yuen 3–0 (A) Matchday 1 Al-Qadsia 0–0 (H)
Kitchee 2–0 (H) Matchday 2 Malkiya 0–0 (A)
Tai Po 3–1 (A) Matchday 3 Al-Suwaiq 4–2 (H)
Tai Po 4–0 (H) Matchday 4 Al-Suwaiq 1–0 (A)
Hang Yuen 5–0 (H) Matchday 5 Al-Qadsia 1–0 (A)
Kitchee 0–1 (A) Matchday 6 Malkiya 2–1 (H)
Group I winners
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 April 25 6 15
2 Kitchee 6 10
3 Tai Po 6 8
4 Hang Yuen 6 1
Source: AFC
 Final standings Group C winners
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Al-Ahed 6 14
2 Malkiya 6 8
3 Al-Qadsia 6 7
4 Al-Suwaiq 6 4
Source: AFC
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Knockout stage Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
— Zonal semi-finals Al-Wehdat 1–0 1–0 (A) 0–0 (H)
Zonal finals Al-Jazeera 1–0 0–0 (A) 1–0 (H)
Abahani Limited Dhaka 5–4 3–4 (A) 2–0 (H) Inter-zone play-off semi-finals —
Hà Nội 2–2 (a) 2–2 (A) 0–0 (H) Inter-zone play-off final

Format

The final was played as a single match, with the host team (winners of the Inter-zone play-off final) alternated from the previous season's final.

Should it tied after regulation time, extra time and, if necessary, penalty shoot-out would have been used to decide the winning team.[2]

Match

Details
April 25 0–1 Al-Ahed
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 500
April 25
Al-Ahed
GK23 An Tae-song 26'
RB6 Kwon Chung-hyok
CB30 An Song-il I
CB5 Pak Jin-myong
LB29 Pak Song-rok
RM31 Choe Chol-su 28'
CM15 Won Song
CM7 O Hyok-chol
LM14 Son Pyong-il
CF13 Rim Chol-min (c) 40'
CF10 An Il-bom
Substitutes:
GK1 Sin Tae-song 28'
DF2 Jang Kum-nam
DF17 An Song-il II 88'
MF19 Yun Il-gwang
MF24 Choe Jong-hyok
FW18 Kim Yu-song 40' 88'
FW21 Jang Hyok
Manager:
O Yun-son
GK1 Mehdi Khalil
RB6 Hussein Zein
CB4 Nour Mansour
CB2 Ahmad Al Saleh
LB8 Hussein Dakik
CM13 Issah Yakubu
CM15 Haytham Faour (c) 82'
RM20 Rabih Ataya 80'
AM10 Mohamad Haidar
LM11 Ahmad Zreik
CF99 Ahmed Akaïchi 89'
Substitutes:
GK21 Mohamad Hammoud
GK98 Hadi Khalil
DF5 Khalil Khamis
MF7 Hussein Monzer 90+3' 89'
MF14 Walid Shour
MF23 Ali Hadid
FW30 Tarek El Ali 80'
Manager:
Bassem Marmar

Man of the Match:
Issah Yakubu (Al-Ahed)[1]
Assistant referees:[1]
Deniye Gedara Palitha Parakkrama Hemathunga (Sri Lanka)
Wellabada Hewage Don Senjeewa Premalal (Sri Lanka)
Fourth official:
Omar Al-Yaqoubi (Oman)
Fifth official:
Abdullah Al-Jardani (Oman)

Match rules[2]

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if tied.
  • Penalty shoot-out if still tied after extra time.
  • Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used, with a fourth allowed in extra time.

See also

References
  1. "4.25 SC v Al Ahed FC". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  2. "2019 AFC Cup Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
  3. Mahfoud, Maroun (5 November 2019). "Observations from Ahed's AFC Cup triumph". FaLebanon. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  4. "North Korea loses hosting soccer match amid TV concerns". AP NEWS. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  5. "نهائي كأس الاتحاد الآسيوي في الصين". lebanonfg.com (in Arabic). 17 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  6. "AFC Cup 2019 final to be played in Shanghai". AFC. 22 October 2019.
  7. "AFC Cup 2019 final to be played on November 4 in Kuala Lumpur". AFC. 25 October 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.