MUSCAT: The Omantel League football resumed its matches on Tuesday evening after a hiatus of about two months at the request of the former head coach of the national team, Branko Ivankovic, to prepare the players for the Asian Cup in Qatar.
Al Nahda defeated Dhofar 3-1 in the first match of the 11th round of the Omantel League, which was held at Al Buraimi Sports Complex.
The first half saw a balanced start between the two teams, exchanging attacks in an attempt to reach the danger zone. Despite Al Nahda's superiority in penetration and defending against attacks, Dhofar benefited from counterattacks without being able to convert them into goals.
After Bilal bin Sahah missed an early goal-scoring opportunity, Harib al Saadi managed to score the first goal for Al Nahda in the 23rd minute, increasing the effectiveness of their players. After the goal, Dhofar attempted to change their playing style to equalise the score and had several opportunities that they failed to convert into goals, leading to the end of the first half with Al Nahda leading 1-0.
In the second half, Dhofar started strongly in an attempt to score the equaliser, but Al Nahda's defence was solid, and goalkeeper Ibrahim al Mukhaini confidently dealt with the attempts.
NO REACTION
When things seemed settled in favour of Al Nahda, Abdulaziz al Shamsi scored the second goal in the 50th minute. Dhofar's players showed no reaction after receiving the second goal and conceded the third goal through Walter Bwalya in the 72nd minute, which was the first goal for the new Congolese professional in Al Nahda and his first official match.
Despite Dhofar's stumble at the start of the second half, they managed to score a consolation goal through French professional Omega in the 80th minute. While Hamoud al Saadi tried to score a fourth goal for Al Nahda in the dying moments of the match, he was unsuccessful, and the match ended with Al Nahda winning 3-1 against Dhofar.
With this result, Al Nahda's points tally rose to 22, occupying the second position, one point behind leaders Seeb, while Dhofar's tally remains at 13 points in seventh place.
On Friday, Al Wahda will host Al Rustaq, Saham will visit Al Nasr, and Ibri will host Bahla at their stadium. The round will continue on Saturday with Oman Club facing Sohar at Sohar Sports Complex, and it will conclude with a match between Al Shabab and Seeb at Al Rustaq Sports Complex.
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