Al Khabourah stun Oman Club; Bahla and Saham shine
Al Khabourah clinched an exciting 3-2 win over Oman Club in the round 19 of Omantel League at the Seeb Sports Stadium on Tuesday.
The match began with an aggressive approach from Oman Club, aiming for an early goal. However, the game quickly turned into an even contest between both sides.
Al Khabourah's best chance in the first half came in the 18th minute when Ahmed al Riyami went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, only to be denied by a brilliant save. This was followed by a dangerous header from captain Rashid al Hosani that went over the bar.
On the other end, Mahmood al Hassani missed a clear chance for Oman Club in the 38th minute. Al Khabourah eventually opened the scoring in the 41st minute through Ahmed al Riyami, who capitalised on a defensive error.
In the second half, Oman Club quickly got back into the game with an equaliser in the 51st minute, scored by Azan al Tamimi, who followed up a rebound off the goalkeeper. Mohammed Lamine Dia restored Al Khabourah's lead in the 67th minute. However, Daniel Etor brought Oman Club level again in the 78th minute with a well-taken free kick by Mohammed al Maashari.
In the dying minutes, substitute Noah al Araimi sealed the win for Al Khabourah, scoring from a defensive scramble inside the box. The referee added five minutes of stoppage time, but no further goals were scored, and the match ended 3-2 in favour of Al Khabourah.
With this victory, Al Khabourah raised their tally to 25 points and climbed to fifth place in the standings, while Oman Club remained at 35 points in third place, suffering a significant blow in the title race.
SAHAM HOLD AL NAHDA
Saham started strongly and opened the scoring in the ninth minute through their Nigerian professional Adeniji Babatunde. Al Nahda responded with an equaliser by Harib al Saadi in the 36th minute, ending the first half at 1-1.
In the second half, Al Hajj Malik gave Al Nahda the lead in the 49th minute, but Saham fought back and equalised through Bassam al Saadi in the 78th minute, with both teams sharing the spoils.
With this result, Al Nahda moved to 40 points in second place, missing a chance to close the gap on league leaders Seeb. Meanwhile, Saham reached 22 points and sit in seventh place.
BAHLA EDGE AL RUSTAQ
Bahla secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Al Rustaq at the Al Rustaq Sports Complex.
The lone goal came from Bahla's Loke Vimke. With this win, Bahla moved up to 22 points, escaping the relegation zone and climbing to ninth place.
Al Rustaq, on the other hand, remained at 20 points and fell back into the danger zone, sharing the same points total with Ibri but holding 10th place on goal difference.
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