MUSCAT: Hosts Oman suffered their first loss in the Asian qualifier-road to Qatar 2022 against Saudi Arabia 1-0 on Tuesday night. At the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Saleh al Shehri scored the winning goal for the visitors in the 42nd minute.
With their second straight win in as many matches, World Cup regulars Saudi Arabia are on six points and Oman have three points, thanks to a 1-0 win against Japan in Tokyo.
Oman head coach Branko Ivankovic started with the line-up with Fayez al Rushaidi as goalkeeper and Ali al Busaidy, Amjad al Harthy, Juma al Habsi and Ahmed al Khamisi were positioned in the defence.
Experienced Harib al Saadi led the midfield besides Abdullah Fawaz, Zaher al Aghbari and Salah al Yahyaei. Al Mundher al Alawi and Khalid al Hajri were in the attack line.
STRONG START
As expected from Ivankovic’s men, they started strongly in the match and were seeking for the opening goal in early minutes.
Saudi Arabia, coached by Frenchman Herve Renard, defended perfectly to avoid receiving an early goal. Later, Saudi team took control of the match and began attacking Oman penalty box through movement of Yasser al Shahrani and Salman al Faraj.
Oman made a good move when Ali al Busaidy send a strong ball to the centre of Saudi’s box which was well connected by a perfect header from Juma al Habsi but it was saved by Saudi goalie Mohammed al Owais.
Saudi players showed more attacking intent as Salman al Faraj and his teammates pressed hard towards Fayez’s goal post. Al Faraj sent a strong ball in the 26th minute but went above the bar. Two minutes later, the response came from Red Warriors as an organised attempt started in the middle line and reached to Zaher who send the ball to the centre but Khalid missed the ball.
As the match was heading for the break, Saudi’s pressure succeeded to register the first goal of the match.
Saleh al Shehri struck home in the 42nd minute after a backheel pass from Fahad al Muwalad. Saudis went into the break leading 1-0.
Oman players started second session with more attacking attempts to find an equaliser.
Khalid al Hajri missed a scoring attempt as he received a wonderful cross from Salah al Yahyaei in the 49th minute but Hajri’s header was saved by Saudi goalie Al Owais.
Then on, Ivankovic brought in Issam al Subhi, Arshad al Alawi, Abdulaziz al Ghailani and Abdulaziz al Maqbali as replacements for Abdullah Fawaz, Amjad al Harthy, Al Mundher al Alawi and Khalid al Hajri.
Issam disturbed the Saudi defence thorough his continuous movements near the penalty box. Coach Herve’s instructions were clear as the Saudi players strengthened defence and relied on counter attacks.
Goal scorer Saleh al Shehri was replaced by Ayman Ahmed in the 79th minute. Syrian referee Hanna Hattab added five minutes as additional time. Abdulaziz al Maqbali was very close to register the equaliser in the dying minutes but his ball went outside. Further efforts were fruitless as Saudis earned the full three points, much to the disappointment of the Oman fans who returned to the stadium after a long break.
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