Palestinian striker Mohammed Balah netted the all-important goal as Saham edged Al Nasr 1-0 to extend their lead on top of the Omantel League table during the third round match at the Sohar Sports Complex on Saturday. The third win helped the Batinah club reach nine points from three games.
Saham also benefited from neighbours Sohar’s draw against Bahla to keep the gap at top to two points.
Salalah representatives Al Nasr have one point from a goalless draw against Seeb in the first round. Al Nasr had crashed out of the Arab Club Championship after suffering losses against UAE’s Al Jazeera. They will take on Oman Club in the upcoming round on Friday.
Al Nahda jumped to third with seven points as they beat Oman Club 2-1 at Al Buraimi Sports Complex. Mohsin Darwish’s battalion have posted their second successive victory after beating Suwaiq 2-1 in the previous round. Ahmed al Matroshi and his Yemeni team-mate Abdul Wase Materi netted for the hosts while Abdul Wahid al Hinai scored for Oman Club. The capital city club suffered their second loss after going down against Saham last week. Oman Club are now eighth with three points.
Al Rustaq missed a chance to cut the gap with the top teams after a 1-1 draw against Al Suwaiq. Khalil al Alawi put Al Suwaiq ahead in the first half but Ahmed al Siyabi equalised for the hosts in the 77th minute. Rustaq raised their credit to five points while Suwaiq obtained first point in the league. After the match, Suwaiq’s board announced that Moroccan coach Mawlai Hassan will take over as the head coach of the team and Qasim al Mukhaini will be his assistant coach. The board sacked assistant coach Haitham al Alawi.
BAHLA HOLD SOHAR
Bahla grabbed the limelight of the round as they ended Sohar’s winning run after a thrilling 2-2 draw at Sohar Sports Complex. Newcomers Bahla were very close to victory but for the send off to two players. The guests impressed during the match. However, inspired by coach Siyria, Sohar came back strongly in the second half to snatch the draw.
Leaders for the first two rounds, Sohar slipped to second with seven points. Bahla have three points and are eighth. Muscat earned their first point after a 1-1 draw against Fanja at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. Fanja are sixth with four points.
Seeb scored a narrow 1-0 win over Al Oruba at the Seeb Sports Stadium, the only goal coming in the 23rd minute through Amjad al Harthi. The win helped Seeb to jump to seventh place with four points, while Al Oruba were stuck at the 13th position with one point only.
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