Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Al Suwaiq roar to top

1118793
1118793
minus
plus

MUSCAT, sept 26 - Abdulaziz al Muqbali and Ali al Busaidi scored two goals to give Al Suwaiq fourth straight victory and fly to the top of Omantel League (OL). Al Nasr returned to second place with 10 points, as they drew 1-1 in the Dhofar derby. Nine-time champions Fanja recorded first win in the campaign when they defeated Al Oruba 2-0.


Newcomers Al Mudhaibi suffered their fourth loss in a row, giving question marks about their abilities to remain in OL after they were promoted for the first time.


Saham always are in good form when they play at home. They thrashed Al Salam 3-0 after their previous 4-2 win against Al Nahda at home in the second round.


Mirbat returned to Salalah with full points, beating Sohar 2-0, while the capital city derby between Oman club and Muscat ended in a draw.


Only 15 goals were scored in the fourth round compared with the level of scoring in the first three rounds. All the four rounds were played in only 12 days and the packed schedule it seems have an effect on scoring.


Round after round, Al Suwaiq are showing the credentials to win the OL title. They overcame Al Shabab 2-1 to lead the table with 12 points. After a quiet first half, the show started in the 49th minute when Abdulaziz al Muqbali gave Al Suwaiq the lead. Ali al Busaidi then doubled the score to emphasis Al Suwaiq’s eligibility for the three points.


After three weeks with a clean sheet, Al Nasr conceded the first goal and lost top spot when they drew 1-1 with Dhofar in an exciting derby. Ahmed Saleem gave Dhofar the lead but the veteran striker Younis al Mushaifri equalised to keep Al Nasr in the second spot with 10 points.


Fanja did not allow the misery show of the first three weeks to continue, as they defeated Al Oruba 2-0. In this game, Fanja appeared different and were able to conclude it in the first half, thanks to two goals from Mohammed al Najashi (32) and Mohammed Taqi (37).


Unusually, the home did not smile for Sohar as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat against newcomers Mirbat. Akram Habrish’s men took the lead by Moayad Awadh in the 40th minute. Sohar were not the team with the brilliant start of last season.


Sohar tried to equalise in the second half but the US professional made it two for Mirbat in the 70th minute. Mirbat now have 6 points while Sohar remain on 4 points.


The mysterious Saham came back to winning ways with a 3-0 convincing win over Al Salam. Saham have the best-attacking line and the weakest defensive line.


New signing Lessena Diaby netted a brace in 45th and 72nd minutes, while Faisal al Buraiki completed the scoresheet with a third goal in the 78th minute as Saham posted the biggest win of the round.


In the other fixtures, Al Mudhaibi seemed as they need more time to adapt to the top flight as they became the only team without points. They suffered a fourth straight defeat against Al Nahda.


Mohammed Khaseeb scored the lone goal of the game and the fifth goal in the campaign to send in a serious message for national team coach Pim Verbeek for a call up.


The clash of capital city derby between Oman club and Muscat ended in a 1-1 draw. Rafael gave Muscat the lead in the 50th minute, but Omar al Hasni equalised for Oman club in the injury time.


Jaber al Ajmi


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon