16-05-2025
Al Amerat crush Salalah to win Hockey Super Cup
Muscat: Al Amerat Club were crowned the 2025 Hockey Super Cup champions after a 5-0 victory over Salalah Club at the Hockey Oman Stadium in Al Amerat. The event was held under the auspices of Zuhair bin Mohammed al Ajmi, member of the Asian Hockey Federation.
The match started strongly in favour of Al Amerat, who dominated play from the opening moments. Salalah relied on counter attacks and almost took the lead in the second minute with a dangerous shot from Muhannad al Balushi. Salalah continued their attempts and earned a penalty corner from which Mohammed al Toubi scored, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review.
In the fifth minute, Ahmed al Noufali opened the scoring for Al Amerat from a penalty corner. Salalah nearly equalised quickly, but Ayman Rabie missed a clear one-on-one chance against goalkeeper Fahad al Noufali. Al Amerat maintained their high pressure and nearly doubled their lead in the final minute of the first quarter, but Salalah's goalkeeper Khalid al Quraini made the save, ending the quarter with Al Amerat leading 1-0.
Al Amerat make an attack at Salalah goalmouth.
The second quarter saw Al Amerat dominate possession without creating real scoring chances until the final minute when Mohammed al Noufali's shot rebounded off the goalkeeper and Mahmoud Ramadhan followed it up to score the second goal, ending the half with Al Amerat up 2-0.
At the start of the third quarter, Al Amerat continued their dominance and Elias al Noufali scored the third goal amidst a clear drop in Salalah's performance. Adnan al Hasani nearly added a fourth goal in the 27th minute, but Khalid al Quraini once again shined, saving another penalty corner for Al Amerat. Salalah attempted a comeback through a corner taken by Rashad Khuzain, but it posed no threat. In the final minutes of the quarter, Adnan al Hasani and Ayman Faraj scored the fourth and fifth goals, ending the quarter 5-0.
Al Amerat captain lifts the Super Cup trophy.
The final quarter saw no change in the scoreline, concluding with a well deserved triumph for Al Amerat, who claimed the Hockey Super Cup title.
Mohammed al Darmaki, head coach of Al Amerat, expressed his delight after winning the Super Cup. "We congratulate all members of Al Amerat Club, including the players, management, technical staff and fans. Special congratulations go to the club's Board of Directors, led by Shaikh Mohsin bin Hani al Bahrani, who was the team's biggest supporter both financially and morally, always present with the players, encouraging and motivating them to achieve this success."
Salalah players pose with their runners-up medals.
GAME PLAN
He added about the match: "The players delivered a great performance and fully deserved the title. They executed the game plan with full commitment. Finals are always approached with caution, regardless of the opponent's name and that's what we are focused on in the first quarter by playing conservatively with a strong defensive setup to better read the opponent's strategy, knowing that finals always carry surprises.
"After that, the team gradually opened up, imposed its style of play, dominated possession and managed to diversify its tactics and create space, resulting in five deserved goals that reflect the hard work the players put in throughout the match."
Salih Rasim Salih, captain of Salalah, said: "We played a strong match where the players gave their all with great fighting spirit. We congratulate Al Amerat Club on this deserved victory and I also congratulate my teammates in Salalah for their commendable performance."
Al Amerat crush Salalah to win Hockey Super Cup
He added: "The match was decided by the experience of the players. We faced a team with seasoned players accustomed to playing in such finals, while we rely on a young squad made up of junior and youth players, which in itself was a big challenge that we bravely accepted.
"We have a solid base of young players that we have started to develop and prepare for the future; and we are working hard to build a team capable of competing strongly and reaching the podiums in the coming years."
Pics by: Khalfan Al Ruzaiqi
