The Omani national team reached the final match of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Championship “Gulf 26” held in Kuwait, after eliminating its Saudi counterpart from the semi-finals, by defeating them 2-1 in the match that brought them together yesterday. Bahrain also qualified for the final after defeating Kuwait 1-0. Scored by Mohamed Marhoon in the 75th minute.
The first half was a Saudi performance, as the match started in the best way, and imposed offensive pressure on the Omani team, whose players contented themselves with retreating to the back areas to secure their goal.
The danger of the Saudi Green appeared when he received a fixed kick from an arched position on the border of the box, which goalkeeper Fayez Al-Rashidi sent away to a corner.
Marwan Al-Sahafi missed the opportunity to score a goal against the Saudi team, when he received a pass while the goal was wide open, and the ball passed between his feet and out of the field.
The decisive point in the match was the expulsion of the Omani player, Munther Al-Alawi, after a violent intervention on Salem Al-Dosari, so the Omani Red team completed the match from the 34th minute with 10 players.
The Omani goalkeeper, Fayez Al-Rashidi, excelled in eliminating the most dangerous chances of the match in stoppage time, when he made a sacrificial save against Salem Al-Dosari, who manipulated the red defence, but the Omani goalkeeper saved the situation and the first half ended in a goalless draw.
With the resumption of the second half, the Saudi pressure continued, and Abdullah Al-Hamdan scored for them in the 60th minute, but the goal was canceled due to offside after the intervention of the “mouse” technique.
While the Saudi fans were waiting for a goal at any moment, Arshad Al-Alawi was able to surprise everyone by scoring the lead goal for the Omani team from a fixed kick that penetrated the human wall and settled to the right of goalkeeper Muhammad Al-Owais (74).
The Omani Red hit the Saudi Green goal again, when Ali Al Busaidi was able to add another goal thanks to a magic pass from Abdul Rahman Al Mushafri, which hit the defense and the goalkeeper “85”.
Two minutes later, Al-Akhdar was able to reduce the difference through Mohammed Kanno, with a shot he fired from a long distance, but the goal was not enough to equalize the score.
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