Fanja, Sur gear up for HM Cup final

MUSCAT, April 2 - Nine-time champions Fanja and three-time winners Sur are gearing up for the His Majesty’s Cup football final which is scheduled to take place on April 11 at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher. Sur secured a place in the final after beating Majees in the semifinal. Sur registered a 4-2 triumph in the first-leg and followed it with another 2-0 win in the second-leg. Both results advanced Sur to the final on a 6-2 aggregate score. Fanja sealed place in their 13th final after thrashing Mirbat with a 7-2 aggregate score. Fanja prevailed against Mirbat 3-2 in the first-leg and registered a thumping 4-0 win in the second leg in Salalah. Fanja are looking to clinch their record 10th title of the coveted cup. After Fanja, it is Salalah giants Dhofar who had won the HM Cup for most number of times with eight triumphs. FANJA EARN PROMOTION Fanja completed their journey at OFA’s First Division league last month with a third place and sealed direct promotion to Omantel League, the top domestic league, in the next season. The technical staff of Fanja team has depended on the internal camps and friendly matches to raise the technical level of the players. Abdul Rasool al Zadjali, team manager of Fanja, stated that the team is underway in their preparation for the final of the prestigious cup. “ All members of the team are focused to lift the title for the tenth time. The final match of HM Cup means a lot to the team and we are moving on the right track of our preparation,” he said. “All the players are working hard and attending all the training sessions. We will have a couple of friendlies in the coming days. The first preparatory match was against Al Rustaq where we ended with a 1-0 victory. With the same result, the second match was over against the national university team,” the Fanja’s team manager said. The nine-time champions will begin their close internal camp on next Monday until the final match day. Some of the team players are taking part in the ROP’s football tournament which will get over by next Monday. Haitham al Alawi, the head coach of the Fanja team, is fully aware with the technical abilities and capabilities of his team as he was the coach of Olympic team of Fanja and assistant coach to the former Fanja coach, Sultan al Tooqi who joined as assistant coach of Oman U-15 national team. SUR EYE DOUBLE TARGET On the other hand, Sur will try to rekindle their memories when they were the champions in the 2007-08 edition. The Al Sharqiyah club is struggling currently at the league with the team positioned at the relegation zone. Sur are placed in 13th position with 15 points only and having better goal differences than Oman club which is positioned at the bottom of table. Salah Abdulrahman, team manager, affirmed that the team is focusing right now on league as they located in danger area. “ Our priority is on the forthcoming match against Suhar on Friday at Sur Sports Complex. After the Sohar match, the team will have few days to prepare in a comprehensive training plan for the HM Cup final,” the Sur team manager said. “The team will arrive in Muscat before three days for the final match. We believe it is necessary to stay with the top teams in Omantel League. Securing our appearance at top domestic league in the next season and lifting the coveted HM Cup are our top aims now. We hope to achieve both of them,” Salah Abdulrahman concluded.