MUSCAT: Oman's Al Nahda club secured a valuable 2-0 victory against Palestine club Shabab Al Khalil during the first leg of the first preliminary round of the King Salman Cup for Arab Football Clubs at Al Buraimi Sports Complex stadium on Saturday.
Al Nahda scored two goals through their players Abu Bakr Camara and Omar al Maliki, which made their task less difficult in the return match.
In the first half, Al Nahda started with an organised attack and managed to open the scoring through Abu Bakr Kamara in the 13th minute, after exchanging the ball with his teammate and hitting it powerfully from inside the box to the right of goalkeeper Mohammad Shabeer.
Al Nahda dominated the course of the game, especially in the midfield, while Shabab Al Khalil relied on short passes which were mostly intercepted by Al Nahda players. Despite their efforts, Shabab Al Kahlil failed to go past Al Nahda defence and goalkeeper Ibrahim al Mukhaini. The first half ended with the Al Nahda leading 1-0.
The second half started with a clear desire from Al Nahda to control the course of the game, take possession of the ball, and score a second goal. Antres, Al Maliki, and Kamara launched attacks on the Shabab Al Khalil goal, with Antres coming close to scoring, but luck was not on his side.
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Meanwhile, Shabab Al Khalil attempted to breach Al Nahda's goal, but their players were unable to capitalise on their opportunities. Al Nahda sensed the danger and responded with another attack, ultimately earning a corner kick. Amer al Maliki received the ball from the corner and headed it straight into the goal, securing Al Nahda's second goal of the game in the 76th minute.
Despite the repeated attempts and substitutions made by Jordanian Raed Assaf, the coach of Shabab Al Khalili, he was unable to bridge the difference. The match ended with Al Nahda winning 2-0 against Shabab Al Khalil.
With this victory, Al Nahda brightened their chances of qualifying for the second round of the King Salman Cup for Clubs. The return match will take place on April 11 at the Al Hussein Stadium in Al Khalil, West Bank, Palestine.
Shabab Al Khalil need to win by three goals to snatch the qualification card for the third preliminary round.
The winner of the Al Nahda and Shabab Al Khalili match will face the winner of the Egypt's El Gaish and Libya's Al Ahly in the third preliminary round match in Tripoli.The winner of the third preliminary round will qualify for the group stage, which will be held in Saudi Arabia.
The winner of the third preliminary round matches will join the second group to play alongside Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal, Morocco's Wydad and Qatar's Al Sadd teams. The presence of these top clubs make the group strongest among the championship groups.
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