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Oman to face Singapore in final

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KUALA LUMPUR: Singapore and Oman will meet in the 2019 Airmarine Cup final after securing wins over Malaysia and Afghanistan respectively at the National Stadium in the Malaysian capital on Wednesday. The 5-0 win against Afghanistan was a positive start for Oman head coach Erwin Koeman, who replaced Pim Verbeek at the helm less than a week ago. The match began intensely with both sides fighting for possession, but the ball barely travelled past their respective final thirds in the opening minutes. Nine minutes into the game, Oman took the lead when Raed Saleh’s corner kick found Mohammed al Musalami, who unleashed a shot which was touched home by Ahmed Mubarak.


Afghanistan’s defence began to show signs of cracking, and Oman pounced on such mistakes with Aziz al Maqbali coming extremely close to doubling their lead in the 16th minute when he sidestepped several defenders in the box, only to shoot wide.


On 26 minutes, Mohammed al Balushi dispossessed an Afghan defender and sent a superb through ball past the Central Asians’ backline, and Saleh surged forward alone before beating goalkeeper Ovays Azizi to make it 2-0.


Anoush Dastgir’s Afghanistan began to push back but their runs into the final third were consistently caught offside or cut short by Oman’s quick defenders.


As the game headed for the break, Oman found the back of the net two minutes into first half added time from a corner set-piece once again, with Saleh sending in yet another exceptional cross that found Al Balushi who rose highest to head home.


Afghanistan returned in the second half more spirited and were threatening in front of Oman’s goalmouth but they were caught off guard when the West Asians launched a swift counter-attack that saw Saleh sending a cross forward to Al Maqbali, and the forward calmly beat Azizi with a left-footed strike.


It was not to be for Afghanistan as Oman had the final say in the match when custodian Azizi failed to properly clear Saleh’s corner kick, and Musallam Akaak made no mistake from close range to send the deflected ball into the back of the net in the third minute of added time.


Singapore beat Malaysia with a solitary goal by Faris Ramli in the 2019 Airmarine Cup in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.[/caption]

SINGAPORE EDGE MALAYSIA


Malaysia were on the offensive from the first blow of the referee’s whistle, but the host weren’t able to retain possession as Singapore played well under pressure, and it was the visitors who had the first glimpse on goal in the 12th minute when Yasir Hanapi intercepted a pass.


The Tampines Rovers midfielder then surged down the middle to set up a one-on-one with goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi, but the custodian stood firm to block his close range effort. Hanapi then let loose a half-volley from the resultant corner kick, but shot straight into the arms of Fahmi.


The Malayan Tigers had a chance of their own four minutes later with Azam Azih sending in a curling corner kick that Irfan Zakaria connected with but he could get his header on target.


Tan Cheng Hoe’s Malaysia were forced to be more vigilant with their defending and play on the counter-attack as Singapore began to press forward in numbers in the later stages of the first half.


A minute into the second half, an exchange of passes ended with Faris Ramli testing Fahmi with a soft chip shot as Singapore seized control.


Malaysia, though, had chances but found Singapore’s Izwan Mahbud a hard man to beat with the custodian denying Matthew Davies’ left-footed strike and Zaquan Adha’s header in quick succession.


Malaysia came incredibly close to breaking the deadlock in the 67th minute when the Singaporean backline was caught asleep after a cross found Mohamadou Sumareh on the right flank. The Gambian-born forward could have found the back of the net if he had chosen to shoot but instead, he opted to make a play for skipper Zaquan but his pass failed to find the intended target.


Singapore’s disciplined approach eventually paid dividends as Faris positioned himself perfectly to collect Khairul Amri’s through pass and he made no mistake with his shot into the bottom left corner of the net in the 82nd minute. — AFC


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