Muscat, SEPT 23 - Al Nasr continued their amazing start in the Omantel League (OL) when they edged Al Shabab 1-0 away in the key clash of the week. Al Suwaiq came back from behind to beat newcomers Al Mudhaibi 2-1, to level Al Nasr on the top of the table with nine points each, while Sohar, Oman club, Mirbat and Muscat registered their first victories in the campaign.
The results of week 3 came up with many new changes. Muscat jumped to the fourth place with five points after they thrashed Saham 3-1. Sohar also replaced Al Salam in the 7th place after they defeated them 3-1 in the Al Batinah derby. While Dhofar continued their wobbling performance this season when they suffered a 1-1 draw against Al Oruba at home.
Back to the main action of week 3, Al Nasr looked in their best shape with the Egyptian manager Hamza al Jamal. Al Jamal’s men came back to Salalah with three important points thanks to the goal scored by Younis al Mashafri in his ex-team Al Shabab. It is not only three points for Al Nasr, also they pulled Al Shabab out of the lead.
Al Suwaiq who seek a return to OL titles this season, did not let the surprise of the first goal scored by Al Mudhaibi to continue for long when they won 2-1 in the second half thanks to Khalid al Hajri’s brace.
Al Suwaiq straggled in the first half but the player’s experience helped the team win. The newcomers Al Mudhaibi became the only team who have no points in the campaign after they suffered three losses.
At Salalah Stadium, Dhofar failed to keep pace with Al Oruba’s young players. Al Oruba who had seven-day preparation only for the season, emphasised that they play with their good history in OL. They showed a very good performance in the game, and had the lead in the first half by the promising striker Yousif Naser. While the game looked to end for the better side Al Oruba, Dhofar earned a penalty in the 70th minute, converted by Spanish Hugo Lopez. Al Oruba now have five points in the 5th place while Salalah giants have four points in the 6th place.
Muscat were the most team to benefit from the round when the thrashed Saham 3-1 to jump to the 4th place with five points. The unbeaten team this season Muscat took the lead in the first minute thanks to Yaqoob al Siyabi. Saham then tried to equalise but Ebbs al Hashami killed their hopes by scoring the second goal for Muscat before half time. Ghasan al Sadi made it three in the 86th minute to give Muscat important three points. Mohammed al Ghasani scored Saham’s goal to lead score list table with five goals.
At Salalah Stadium, Fanja continued their misery when they slammed to the second consecutive loss against newcomers Mirbat. Last week, Fanja were also defeated against newcomers Al Salam which showed how much they paid for their administrative problems. On the other side, Mirbat had their first victory in the campaign thanks to the two goals scored by Noah Wael and Musalam Ekaak.
It a week where four teams recorded their first victory. Sohar scored three fantastic goals to overcome Al Salam 3-1 at Sohar Stadium. Salem al Muqbali scored a fabulous goal from around 30 metres to give Sohar the lead in the 28th minute. Ishaq al Muqbali made it 2-0 by scoring a stunning goal in the 44th minute. Sohar had the third goal by Khalifa al Jahwari who scored his first goal since returning from 5-month absence due to a knee injury.
Oman club came back from Al Buraimi with three points, defeating Al Nahda 3-1. With goals from Omar al Hassani, Jafar al Balushi and Mohammed al Mashari, Oman club achieved their first three points in the campaign.
The fourth Omantel League week will be played on Monday, 25th of September.
Jaber Al Ajmi
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