Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Oman made to work hard by Bhutan

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THIMPU: Pim Verbeek’s Oman set up that top of the table decider next year after claiming their fourth win in five games against Bhutan, although the visitors were made to work hard at Changlimithang Stadium as the home side scored their first two goals in final round of Group D Asian Cup 2019 qualifying. In their last match, already-qualified Oman now need to win by two clear goals on home soil next year having lost 2-1 in Palestine earlier in the campaign.


“It was a difficult game for us with the altitude factor and the cold. I asked my players to be patient and work towards the goal,” said Verbeek, who saw his side beat Bhutan 14-0 at home at the start of the campaign. “We didn’t want to rush to score, we took our time.


“Bhutan is a completely different team at home and they defended very well. Two goals against the best goal keeper in Middle East is a huge achievement and I think Bhutan has a bright future.”


The defeat was Bhutan’s fifth in as many games, but the first time they had found the net with Karma Shedrup Tshering and Chencho Gyeltshen beating Ali al Habsi in the second half.


“It was a great performance from my boys, one of the best so far in the tournament,” said Bhutan coach Pema Dorji.

“We had our game plan set and we wanted to defend for the first 20 minutes so that they will get tired, and after that we wanted to attack.


“It worked, but we couldn’t keep them from scoring as they are on different level.”


After a goalless first half, the visitors took the lead when Sami al Hassani headed home at the near post just three minutes after the restart.


Bhutan, though, stunned Oman just 11 minutes later when Chencho Gyeltshen led his team on a counter-attack before laying the ball off to Karma Shedrup Tshering and his shot from outside the area slipped under goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi.


With 15 minutes remaining Oman reclaimed the lead when Raed Ibrahim Saleh’s right-foot shot from outside the area beat goalkeeper Hari Gurung and finally Verbeek’s team assumed control.


In the 85th minute they doubled their lead when Saleh bundled the ball over the line from close range before Saleh completed his hat-trick when he added his side’s fourth a minute before the end of regulation time with another close-range effort.


The goal of the night, though, came from the home side in injury time when Chencho struck from long range after a free-kick was tapped in his direction and his low strike gave veteran goalkeeper Al Habsi little chance.


In West Bank, coach Abdel Nasser Barakat hailed a job well done as Palestine maintained a 100 per cent record with an 8-1 win over the Maldives on Tuesday.


Palestine’s place at a second consecutive Finals had already been secured before the penultimate Group D meeting at Arab American University Stadium, but that did not stop the home side easing to a fifth win of the campaign.

And with also Oman beating Bhutan 4-2 in Thimphu, Palestine maintained their three-point lead at the top of the table with just one game remaining in March next year.


“All the players gave their best, and although there were some mistakes, we had a good performance in general and I want to thank the players once again for all the effort they showed in the match,” said Barakat.


Palestine now need to avoid defeat in Oman in March to secure top spot in Group D, having earned their AFC Asian Cup debut in 2015 after winning the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. “The goal of the match was to use several players and we wanted to have a big result to reduce the goal difference with Oman,” added Barakat. — AFC


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