MUSCAT, Feb 27 -
The return match between the defending champions Dhofar and the league leaders Seeb will decide the first arrival to the final fixture of the 2020-21 His Majesty’s Cup Football Championship as the first-leg match ended in a goalless draw on Friday at Seeb Stadium.
Al Ittihad put one foot in the final match of coveted cup as they recorded a 2-1 convincing victory over Al Suwaiq at Al Saada Sports Complex late on Friday.
Back to the champions clash, the referee Omar al Yaqoobi showed six yellow cards during the match due to the toughness between both parties.
In the dying minutes of the first half, the match saw some exciting action and hard tussle including the cancellation of Abdulaziz al Maqbali’s goal by the first assistant referee as he was standing in the offside position.
Dhofar’s Omar al Malki spoiled a golden chance as he missed the panty shootout in the additional time of the first half. Earlier in the first half, Seeb’s Salah al Yahyaei was very close to scoring as he hit a strong ball that went above the net in the 15th minute.
Two minutes later, the striker Abdulaziz al Maqbali missed another scoring attempt as he shot the ball towards Fayez al Rushaidi and the ball went beside the net.
In the second half, Rasheed Jaber’s men began with exploring the opening goal as Khalid al Jabri and Abdullah Fawazi tried but both attempts failed to convert into a goal in the first ten minutes.
Despite the replacement made by coaches Bruno Miguel and Rasheed Jaber, the result remained the same until the end of the match. The decision will be made in the return match at Al Saada Sports Complex on Tuesday. Seeb may have a better chance if they score a goal and the match ended in a draw.
The head coach of Seeb, Bruno Miguel, affirmed that the match was very tough between both teams. “The win was the target for both teams and both of them missed the chances. Still we have one more game and we are confident to end it with positive result,” he added in the post-match press conference.
On the other hand, coach Rasheed Jaber said that team made many scoring attempts but unfortunately not converted to goals. “Missing the penalty in the first half impacted in the team. In the second half, we had showed different style but acceleration and absence of the control were behind non scoring goals,” he ended.
Al Ittihad made the right move towards their presence at the final encounter after beating Al Suwaiq 2-1 at Al Saada Sports Complex. Junior gave hosts Al Ittihad the lead in the ninth minute.
Essam al Subhi equalised for Al Suwaiq as he netted the goal ten minutes later.
Al Suwaiq’s defender Yusef al Saadi scored an own goal in a lapse of concentration in the 63rd minute which delivered the triumph for the hosts. Despite the loss, Iraqi coach Hakeem Shaker’s team have the chance in the return match which will take place on Tuesday at Al Rustaq Sports Complex.
Adil Al Balushi
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