Muscat: Seeb thrashed Sohar 4-1 to enter the quarterfinals of His Majesty’s Cup Football Championship at Sohar Complex Stadium with a large crowd in attendance.
The first half of the match saw a fierce exchange between the two teams, both eager to score an early goal. In the ninth minute, Abdulaziz al Maqbali missed an important opportunity after a cross from Zaher al Aghbari. However, Al Maqbali redeemed himself in the 14th minute by netting the opening goal for Seeb.
Seeb continued to dominate the proceedings, with Sohar producing only a few feeble attacks that posed no real threat to Seeb's goal. Just before the close of the first half, Ali al Busaidi found the back of the net, extending Seeb's lead to 2-0 at half-time.
The second half witnessed Sohar's efforts to reduce the gap, but Seeb's solid defence thwarted their attempts. The turning point came in the 56th minute when Ayman al Breiki of Sohar received a red card, reducing Sohar to 10 men. Following that, Sohar's Bosnian coach, Emir Dzeko, made two substitutions to strengthen the attack. Substitute player Daniel Itur managed to score Sohar's only goal in the 63rd minute.
However, Seeb capitalised on their numerical advantage and in the 69th minute, Jackson Bisan added a third goal for the team. In the 81st minute, Al Seeb sealed their victory with a fourth goal, scored by Zaher al Aghbari. The match concluded with the final score at 4-1.
Seeb secured their place in the quarterfinals, where they will face off against defending champions Al Nahda in the next round.
OMAN CLUB BLANK AL MUDHAIBI
Oman Club delivered an impressive performance in the HM’s Cup Round of 16, securing a dominant 4-0 victory over Al Mudhaibi at the ROP Stadium.
From the very outset, Oman Club displayed their superiority, taking control of the ball and launching relentless attacks. Despite Al Mudhaibi's efforts to retreat to their defensive zones, Oman Club managed to maintain possession without converting it into clear-cut goal-scoring opportunities.
In the 16th minute, Majed al Balushi struck the first goal for Oman Club with a brilliantly executed cross. Just a minute later, Oman Club extended their lead to 2-0 when Shawqi al Raqadi capitalised on a defensive error from Al Mudhaibi.
The second half saw Oman Club continue their performance, and in the 47th minute, Shawqi al Raqadi added a third goal through an organised attack. A strong long-range shot by Nasser al Rawahi in the 63rd minute sealed Oman Club's fourth goal. Despite their best efforts in the second half, Al Mudhaibi couldn't find the back of the net, resulting in a convincing win for Oman Club 4-0.
Oman Club now advance to the quarterfinals, where they will face the winner of the match between Dhofar and Saham.
Oman Club, a two-time winner of HM’s Cup (in 1979 and 1994), seek to end their prolonged absence from the winner's podium, building on their solid league performance, currently securing the third position.
BAHLA EDGE SALALAH
In another exciting last 16 match, Bahla secured a 1-0 victory over Salalah on Friday at Nizwa Sports Complex.
The only goal of the match came in the last minute of the first half, scored by Abdulhamid al Mundhiri. Bahla will face the winner of the match between Al Rustaq and Ibri in the quarterfinals.
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