Al Nasr power to fifth HM Cup glory

The match started with some early attacks from Al Nasr and it was Sohar who went up in the game. Joseph Akambi hit a firm shot that sailed over the bar in the second minute of the match. Sohar drew the first blood when foreign recruit Maksimilian Fomin from Uzbekistan netted through a header in the 22nd minute of the match. In the 31st minute, Al Nasr brought up cheers to their fans when Younis al Mushaifri found the equaliser for the Salalah team to make it 1-1. Al Nasr started a move with Ahmed al Siyabi and his pass to 27 shot wide in the 15th minute. In the 42nd minute, Samir al Buraiki’s strong header from a high-ball cross by Soury Ibrahim just went over. Hasan al Ajmi’s brilliant cross to the penalty area of Al Nasr found no takers in the next minute for Sohar as they pressed for another goal towards the end of first half. In the second half, Al Nasr were off to a strong start when Younis al Mushaifri put them on lead with a fine finish in the 48th minute to make it 2-1. In the 55th minute, Sohar pulled one back with Muttasam al Shibli sending a long chip from 25 yards that baffled national team goalkeeper Ahmed al Rawahi to go inside the Al Nasr net. In the 60th minute, another Sohar move that threatened Al Nasr goal went waste as Ali al Salam paused and his aimless cross went for a throw in. In the 63rd minute, Al Nasr’s Egyptian coach Hamza al Jamal replaced Abdullah Noah, who did a nice job in organising Al Nasr attacks, with Khalid Hamadani. Sohar also followed suit after two minutes when coach Morad Mawlai substituted Yakoob Abdulkarim with Salim Khalfan al Muqbali. In the 72nd minute, Al Nasr threatened Sohar penalty area with newcomer Khalid Hamadani dribbling past some defenders but failed to go into a scoring position. Al Nasr earned a free kick near the box next minute but Abdulrazak al Hossain’s ordinary shot did not make any impact. There were 11,700 fans attending the match making it a festive atmosphere at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. Sohar fans exceeded the Al Nasr supporters in terms of numbers. In the 80th minute, Al Nasr were on attack with Younis al Mushaifri trying a firm ground shot that was well saved by Sohar goalkeeper Dawood al Kahali. In the 84th minute, a penalty claim by Sohar after a foul on Anwar Ibrahim was turned down by the referee. In the 86th minute, Al Nasr coach Hamza al Jamal recalled in-form Younis al Mushaifri and Fadi Fareed Mohammed was brought in as the match seemed to go for extra-time. During the added time, Sohar tried to find a winner but the shot went way above the goalpost putting the match into extra-time. In the 18th minute of extra-time, Sohar brought in Ayood Shizawi in place of Ahmed Malallah. Both the teams, who were tired on a humid night, played it safe during the extra-time and there were hardly any solid moves and the match went to penalty shoot-out.