3 days ago
Oman Club stun Dhofar, Al Nasr blank Sur in Elite League
MUSCAT: Oman Club secured a valuable 2-1 victory over Dhofar on Sunday evening at Seeb Stadium in the first round of the Oman Elite Football League.
The match began with strong attacking pressure from Oman Club, who launched forward from the early minutes. Despite the danger they posed to goalkeeper Mazen al Kasbi's net, their attempts failed to find the target. Gradually, Dhofar improved their performance, with Fahad al Hajri, Ammar Bait Sabeih and Mohammed al Habsi creating several chances, though none were converted.
In the 25th minute, Oman Club took the lead after an unexpected mistake, when Dhofar defender Omar bin Adel mistakenly sent the ball into his own net. Dhofar responded in the 38th minute through striker Abdullah al Mughni, who capitalised on a defensive error by Saud al Habsi to level the score. The first half ended 1-1.
At the start of the second half, Dhofar coach Musbah al Saadi made an attacking change, bringing on Mohammed al Areebi for Fahad al Hajri, as the fast-paced, evenly matched play continued. Oman Club coach Idriss al Murabiti also introduced several substitutes to try and change the outcome, but the back-and-forth attacks produced no goals.
When the match seemed destined for a draw, Omar al Hasani struck the winner in the 90th minute, receiving a fine pass and sending the ball beautifully over Mazen al Kasbi to secure the win. Dhofar pressed hard in stoppage time, forcing goalkeeper Abdulaziz al Hasani and the Oman defence into action, but the score remained unchanged.
With this victory, Oman Club collected their first three points of the season, while Dhofar were left empty-handed at the close of the opening round.
Al Nasr and Sur players in action.
AL NASR POST AWAY-WIN
In the other match, Al Nasr started their Elite League campaign with an important win, defeating Sur 2-0 at the Sur Sports Complex.
The match kicked off with an early chance for Al Nasr in the second minute when Abdullah al Musharrafi received a cross inside the box, but his shot deflected off defender Mani' al Mukhaini and went for a corner. Sur then retreated to defend, relying on counterattacks, while Al Nasr kept pressing. Abdel Fadel Saonina missed a golden chance after 15 minutes when his low shot went narrowly wide.
Al Nasr continued to dominate but struggled to finish their chances, including a 23rd-minute effort by Abdullah al Musharrafi that was denied by goalkeeper Yousuf al Shiyadi. Sur responded with several attempts, but they were thwarted by Al Nasr's defence and resulted only in corners. Despite their control, Al Nasr had to wait until the 44th minute to break the deadlock, when Abdullah al Musharrafi capitalised on a loose ball in the box to score the opener, ending the first half 1-0.
Early in the second half, Al Nasr appeared determined to extend their lead while Sur searched for an equaliser. In the 49th minute, Yousuf Nasser delivered a dangerous ball that went unconverted. Just two minutes later, in the 51st minute, Al Nasr doubled their lead when Hussein al Shahri delivered a perfect cross that Abdullah al Musharrafi headed into the net for his second goal of the night.
The score remained unchanged until the final whistle, sealing a deserved 2-0 win for Al Nasr, who dominated the match and confirmed their superiority in both performance and threat on goal.
