KUWAIT: Oman boosted their semifinal hopes in the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup with a thrilling 2-1 win against Qatar at Jaber Al Mubarak Stadium on Tuesday night.
Just two minutes from the start, Qatar took the lead when striker Almoez Ali beat the Oman defence to put the ball into the right side net past Oman goalkeeper Ibrahim al Mukhaini.
In the 15th minute, Al Mandhar al Alawi tried to make a difference but the Qatari defence obstructed him without making a mistake.
But five minutes later Oman's Issam al Subhi was fell by a Qatari player inside the box to earn a penalty.
Issam converted the penalty to draw the match 1-1.
Oman made two good moves in the 25th minute through Al Mandhar al Alawi and Issam al Subhi that created panic in Qatari defence.
In the 38th minute, Oman's Abdulrahman al Mushaifri missed a close chance.
Oman's Abdulrahman al Mushaifri and Al Mandhar al Alawi received yellow cards in the first half.
First half ended 1-1, with Oman taking 54 per cent of possession compared with 46 per cent for Qatar.
Oman took lead with only four minutes into the second half.
Issam al Subhi secured an amazing goal from a cross sent by Al Mandhar al Alawi to net it with his right foot.
In 49th and 69th, Qatari strikers tried twice to reach the Omani net but was unsuccessful.
The Oman team tried many attacks but they did not translate into a third goal to end the match with Oman winning 2-1.
Rasheed Jaber, Oman head coach, made many changes, by replacing Abdullah Fawaz with Abdulrahman al Mushaifri, and Motaz Saleh with Al Mandhar al Alawi and Khalid al Breiki with Issam al Subhi in the final stages of the match.
Issam was selected as the best player of the match.
The match was officiated by Ammar Abdulrahman (Iraq), assisted by Abdulrahman Al Omari (KSA) and Mohannad Qasim Issa (Iraq). Wathiq Modallal Obaid (Iraq) as first assistant, Ahmad Sabah Qasim (Iraq) as second assistant, Meler Halil Umut (Turkey) as fourth official, the Video Assistant Referees (VAR) were Fu Ming (China) and Ahmad Kazim Kati (Iraq).
On Friday, Oman will face UAE and at the same time Kuwait will take Qatar within the third round.
In Group B, which includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq and Yemen, Bahrain (3 points) will face Iraq (3 points), then Saudi Arabia will meet Yemen, both have a point each.
Pics by Hussain al Maqbali
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