Late Lebanon goal sinks Oman U17s in opener

MUSCAT, NOV 12
Oman’s national under-17 football team suffered a dramatic 2-1 defeat to Lebanon in their opening AFC U17 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2027 Qualifiers match at Al Saadah Sports Complex in Salalah on Wednesday evening.
The young Red Warriors looked set to take a point after Abdulrahman al Hashmi cancelled out Lebanon’s second-half opener, but Wissam al Awad struck deep into stoppage time to hand the visitors their second successive victory in Group G.
Oman, who had a bye in the opening round, began brightly and created the first clear opportunity in the 12th minute. Mohammed Manna set up captain Bashar al Shamsi inside the area, but Lebanon goalkeeper Mahdi Makki produced an important save.
The hosts continued to compete well during an evenly balanced first half, while Lebanon threatened through Ibrahim Farchoukh in the 26th minute before Saif al Jabri intervened to halt the attack.
Neither side managed to break the deadlock before the interval, but the game opened up after the restart.
Lebanon finally found a way through in the 66th minute when Mohamad Hamie gained possession near the edge of the penalty area, escaped his marker and drove a low shot into the bottom corner.
QUICK RESPONSE
Oman’s response was immediate. Five minutes later, Al Shamsi made progress down the left before picking out Al Hashmi, who converted from close range to restore parity and bring the hosts back into the contest.
With the match seemingly heading towards a draw, Lebanon were awarded a penalty in stoppage time after Hassan al Balushi brought down Farchoukh inside the area.
Goalkeeper Abdullah al Zaabi saved Al Awad’s initial spot-kick, but the Lebanese substitute reacted quickest to the rebound and scored the decisive goal to seal a 2-1 victory.
The result strengthened Lebanon’s position at the top of Group G with six points from two matches, having opened their campaign with a 7-0 win over Brunei Darussalam.
Bahrain moved into second place with four points after defeating Brunei 6-1, following their 1-1 draw against Kuwait in the opening round. Kuwait have one point, while Oman and Brunei are yet to get off the mark.
Only the group winners will qualify for the AFC U17 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2027 finals, leaving Oman with little margin for error in their remaining three matches.
Ahmed bin Salim Bait Said’s side will return to action against Brunei Darussalam on Saturday at 5 pm before facing Bahrain on November 17 and Kuwait on November 20.
With all Group G matches being staged in Salalah, Oman will now look to make full use of home advantage and revive their qualification hopes with a strong response in the remaining fixtures.