Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Beleaguered Al Suwaiq clash with Al Jazeera

1274588
1274588
minus
plus

Muscat, March 12 -


Al Suwaiq are going through contrasting times in their performances at the AFC Cup and the Omantel League as they prepare to take on Jordan’s Al Jazeera in their AFC Cup Group A away game in Amman, Jordan, on Tuesday.


In the Omantel League, after the completion of 15 rounds, Al Suwaiq are the leaders with 38 points followed by Al Shabab on 34.


They are having a good run of form in the domestic competition with 12 victories, two draws and only a single defeat from 15 matches.


Compare that with their fortunes in the AFC Cup Group A games. Al Suwaiq have all three of the games they have played so far against Bahrain’s Al Malkiya Club, Iraq’s Air Force Club and Al Jazeera of Jordan.


The team that boasts the likes of national team regulars like Abdulaziz al Muqbali and Khalid al Hajri have struggled to cope with the quality of competition in the AFC Cup.


Al Jazeera and Air Force Club lead the Group standings with seven points each followed by Al Malkiya with three points. Al Suwaiq are right at the bottom with no wins and draws and a negative goal difference of -5.


Al Suwaiq’s present state can be gauged from the fact that they have managed to score only three goals in three matches, one each to Abdulaziz al Muqbali, Abdoulaye Dieng and Khalid al Hajri.


They have just taken 11 shots on target in these three matches and Al Jazeera, on the other hand, have struck six goals and have had 19 shots on target.


Al Jazeera have clearly been a very superior team throughout the campaign so far.


When it comes to shooting accuracy, Al Suwaiq’s 31.4 per cent pales in comparison to Al Jazeera’s 57.6 per cent and the Omani club will have to significantly improve their target shooting.


In terms of the conversion rate, Al Suwaiq’s 8.6 per cent is lagging far behind Al Jazeera’s 18.2 per cent, and this is an area the Al Suwaiq players would look to focus on. Having said that, it is not all gloom for Al Suwaiq.


Al Suwaiq had lost 3-2 to Al Jazeera when they played the home leg in Muscat and they had given the Jordanian club a run for their money.


Delving further into the stats, Al Suwaiq have won 40 of their tackles while Al Jazeera could succeed only in 31.


In terms of the tackles success rate, the difference between the two clubs is not much really, with Al Suwaiq’s 72.7 per cent not far behind Al Jazeera’s 75.6 per cent.


When it came to the duels won, Al Suwaiq’s 186 is well ahead of Al Jazeera’s 156.


The duels success rate is 57.4 per cent for Al Suwaiq in comparison to Al Jazeera’s 47.9 per cent.


With an overall understanding of the two teams and their game plans, it could be said that one can expect a tightly fought contest in Amman.


Dhofar take on


Jordan’s Al Faisaly


Oman’s second team Dhofar will play the home leg of their Group C fixture against Jordan’s Al Faisaly today.


The Salalah club have a single point from three games after two defeats and a goalless draw.


The group leaders are Al Faisaly with seven points from three matches while Syrian club Al Wahda have five points from three games. Al Ansar are in the third spot with three points while Dhofar are at the bottom with one point.


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon