MUSCAT, April 22 - Oman national team’s star midfielder Raed Ibrahim netted one of the most important goals of his football career as he led his team Valletta FC to clinch the Malta domestic league title. Malta club Valletta FC lifted the title for the 24th time in their history as they edged Gzira United 2-1. M Piciollo scored the first goal for Malta in the seventh minute while Raed Ibrahim netted the second goal in the 64th minute. A Cohen struck the only consolation goal for Gzira United. The fight for the Malta league title came down to the wire as Balzan Youth Club, who were looking to claim their first-ever league crown, and Valletta Club were tied on 55 points.
The Balzan Youth Club suffered a setback to their title hopes when they went down fighting 1-0 to Hibernians Club. It was a case of history repeating itself for Balzan Youth Club as they were close to clinching the title last year as well but ultimately ended up being the second-placed team. With this title triumph, Raed Ibrahim has become the third professional Omani player to be part of domestic league winning side. Earlier, about two weeks back, Ali al Habsi won the Saudi league title with Al Hilal while Nader Awadh had the opportunity to win the Qatar second division title. The 25-year-old Raed was a crucial cog in the wheel as far as Valletta’s march to the title was concerned. The Omani midfielder was at his best in the match against Gzira United and impressed one and all with his technical prowess.
Raed, who hails from Sur, will spearhead the Valletta attack one again in the Malta Cup quarterfinal round. The Omani youngster will be keen for another achievement with Valletta by helping them lift the Malta Cup trophy. Raed Ibrahim has been a part of quite a few successful clubs in the last three years. In 2015, he was a Omantel League title winner with Al Oruba while in 2016 he bagged the same crown with Fanja. In 2017, Raed managed to lift the title with winners Dhofar.
Adil Al Balushi
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
