Muscat: Ahli Sidab and Sohar advanced to the final of the 51st edition of His Majesty's Cup Hockey Championship.
The top clash of the semifinals between the title holders Ahli Sidab and Salalah heavyweights Al Nasr ended in a 1-1 draw in the regulation time before Sidab clinch the triumph in 7-6 on penalties.
The Northern Batinah team, Sohar, secured spot in the final clash after defeating Seeb 4-2 in the other semifinal’s fixture. Sohar’s presence in the final is the second after the first attendance in 200. Seeb was one of the nominated teams to qualify to the final match but Sohar’s players managed to register the win against Muscat based team, Seeb, and exist them in the championship.
Sohar delivered a top show and solid performance during the championship and the team deserves a presence in the summit final clash.
The Batinah team have top players in the team including Qasim al Shibli, Sameer Halees, Shabeeb al Shibli and many new talented faces. It is expected that Sohar will be tough opponent for Sidab in the final.
On the other hand, Sidab will look to defend their title after moving successfully into the semifinals against Al Nasr. The match was even from both sides in the regulation time until the penalties which ended in favour of the defending champion. In all ten penalties, the draw was still the result until the 11th shot which confirmed Sidab’s triumph.
In the third and fourth playoff, Seeb and Al Nasr will meet on Sunday to decide the winners for the third place playoff at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
The match will start at 7:00 pm. Eight times winner Al Nasr will aim to clinch the bronze medals after exiting from final.
Salalah’s representative team was eyeing on the title but Sidab’s victory ended their hopes. On the other hand, Seeb, who won the title eleven times, will chase for the third place medals and award.
Seeb is a well known team in the championship. The first title lifted by them was in 1989 and in the following years the Seeb team managed to win many other coveted cups.
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