Jehad Al Hussein

DAMASCUS: 2006 AFC Champions League runners-up Al Karama picked up the Syria Cup for the sixth time and the second year in a row on Tuesday after defeating archrivals Al Ittihad 1-0 in a tightly-contested final.

The Cup win also ensured a grand double for the Syria League champions like last season and put them in the right frame of mind for September’s AFC Champions League quarter-finals where they play Japan’s Gamba Osaka.

The only goal of the match came in the 66th minute from Jehad Al Hussein in his last appearance for Mohamed Kwid’s side as the midfield kingpin moves back to former club Kuwait SC where he did a stint from 2004-06. Al Ittihad had to play with 10 men in the dying minutes after Omar Hmaidi was sent off in the 90th minute for picking up his second yellow.

This was Al Hussein’s third goal in the knockout stage after scoring in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.

The 26-year-old playmaker was pivotal to Al Karama’s surprising run to the final of the 2006 AFC Champions League and his departure is likely to be felt acutely at the Syrian powerhouse, leaving Kwid with a midfield conundrum unless an equally reliable replacement is found quickly.

Al Karama defeated Al Taleiah in the final last year.