MUSCAT: Al Nahda’s Walter Bwalya netted the all-important goal in the first extra time to secure a crucial slot in the final of the His Majesty’s Cup, in the semifinal second leg match late on Monday at Al Saada Sports Stadium. Al Buraimi representative club will meet Dhofar, who beat Bahla in semis, in the concluding match of the Coveted Cup which will be decided later.
The only goal in the match scored in the 106th minute following the cross ball from Ahmed al Kaabi and reached to Bwalya who converted to the goal through strong header. The first leg match ended with a 1-1 draw at Al Buraimi Sports Complex on February 27.
The first half of the tight encounter ended with a goalless draw, despite the scoring attempts from both teams. The result remained the same in the following half although both coaches implemented different playing strategies and made some substitutions but with no change in the scoring. Later, the match went to the extra half’s which occurred some changes as Al Nahda managed to break the deadlock through header from Walter Bwalya to deliver a crucial win for his team. The opponent Al Nasr worked hard to equalise but Al Nahda’s defending line and the goalie were in perfect positions to break all their attempts.
The match was managed by Qasim bin Matar al Hatmi as field referee and assisted on the lines by the first assistant Hamad bin Talib al Hatmi, the second assistant referee was Nasser bin Salem Ambusaidi, the fourth referee Hisham bin Abdullah al Awaini. The match supervised by Ahmed bin Hamad al Khsaibi ,while Fayyad bin Sami al Shanfari was the match coordinator.
Al Nahda reached to the semifinals after outclassing Seeb in quarters by 2-1 in the first leg and the second leg match ended at a goalless draw. In the last 16 round, Al Buraimi based team beat Sur to move into quarters. Al Nahdha, coached by Hamed al Azani, who seeking for second title in the row.
Al Nahda Club was crowned champion of HM's Football Cup for the 2022-23 for the first time in its history, after defeating Al Seeb Club 1-0 in the final match held at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher.
The final was under the auspices of Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidy, Foreign Minister, in the presence of HH Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham al Said, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth.
The Lead goal of the match was in 20th minute, after a penalty kick, which was successfully scored by Al Nahda’s Ivorian professional, Inters Gui.
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