Belarus edge Oman in beach soccer friendly

MUSCAT: Oman’s beach soccer national team suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat against Belarus in their first friendly match on Thursday evening at the sand pitch of Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher, as part of their ongoing domestic training camp ahead of the Sixth Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China, from April 22 to 30.
The national team is currently holding a preparatory camp from March 23 to 30 under the supervision of national coach Talib al Thanawi, with the technical staff aiming to raise the players’ readiness and fine-tune the squad ahead of the upcoming continental assignment.
Oman began the match brightly and produced an encouraging first-period display, showing sharp movement, composure on the ball and clear attacking intent. The hosts succeeded in imposing their rhythm early on and translated that dominance into two goals. Goalkeeper Younis al Owaisi opened the scoring with a well-taken effort before captain Khalid al Oraimi added a second, giving Oman a deserved 2-0 advantage at the end of the opening period.
Belarus returned with greater intensity in the second period and managed to shift the momentum of the contest. The visitors increased their pressure, improved their finishing and capitalised on a number of attacking situations to overturn the scoreline. Yury Pyatrouski pulled one back before Yahor Hardzetski brought Belarus level. Mikita Shyakouski then completed the comeback with a third goal, leaving Oman trailing 3-2 by the end of the second period.
HIGH TEMPO
The final period was played at a high tempo, with Oman pushing hard in search of an equaliser while Belarus looked dangerous on the counterattack and attempted to extend their lead. Oman created a number of promising chances and remained competitive until the closing moments, but the finishing touch proved elusive despite several opportunities. Belarus, for their part, could not add a fourth goal and the match ended with the score unchanged at 3-2.
Despite the defeat, the friendly offered positive technical indicators for Oman, particularly in the first period, where the team showed discipline, attacking variety and the ability to trouble a strong Belarus side. The match also provided the coaching staff with a valuable opportunity to assess the players' physical and tactical condition under competitive conditions.
The squad in camp includes Khalid al Oraimi, Abdullah al Sooti, Sami al Balushi, Ahmed al Owaisi, Salem al Oraimi, Al Yaqdhan al Hindasi, Khalfan al Ghazali, Fahad al Mashikhi, Musllam al Oraimi, Mohammed al Oraimi, Majid al Afari, Abdulrahman al Fazaari, Zakariya al Qurtoobi, Qusai al Balushi, goalkeepers Ahmed al Mashikhi and Younis al Owaisi.
Oman will face Belarus again on Saturday at 5 pm at the same venue in what will be the second and final friendly of the camp.