Muscat: Hockey heavyweights Ahli-Sidab will take on Sohar in the summit clash of the 51st edition of the coveted His Majesty's Cup Hockey Championship crown on Wednesday.
The match kicks off at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex (SQSC) at 7:00 pm. H E Dr Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Said Al Saidi, Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs,will be the chief guest in presence of top dignitaries and officials.
Defending champion and powerhouse, Sidab, will be chasing a record 13th title in history. Sidab is equal in number of titles with Muscat club as both of them possess 12 titles.
Today’s triumph will give advantage for Sidab to lead in the record list. The experienced national coach Khalid al Riyami will bank on his experienced players and young faces including Abdullah al Alawi, Ali al Zadjali, Salah al Saadi and Rushid al Fazari. The selected players for the match will expect to deliver in a crunch fixture.
On the other hand, the opponent Sohar, is back to the finals after 20 years of absence and will eye on lifting the first historic title.
Northern Batinah team, coached by Hamood al Wahaibi, will not miss the golden opportunity for snatching the prestigious cup as they lost the finals in 2001 against Seeb.
The Sohar team possesses many top performers including Sameer Halees, Amjad al Hasani, Qasim Moosa, Shabeeb al Shubli and Hussain al Qasmi.
Twelve times winner, Sidab, booked a slot in the final after a 7-6 win over Al Nasr in a shootout as both teams were locked in a 1-1 draw at the end of regulation time in semis round.
Sohar advanced to the final as they defeated Muscat-based team, Seeb, 4-2 in a thriller in the semifinals.
The head coach of Sidab team, Khalid al Riyami, affirmed that the team will manage the fixture in a systematic way in order to achieve the required output. “Sohar is a well organised team. They advanced to the final and have all the factors to register the historic title. Also, our team is equipped properly and with all the players in good shape to show top performance and clinch new accomplishment.,” he said.
Coach Hamood al Wahaibi, head of coaching staff in Sohar team, said that the team worked hard during the past few months until reaching the final game. “ We managed to show perfection in the initial stages which assisted the team to move to the final rounds. The team registered victory against Ahli Sidab in the final rounds but today’s assignment is totally different as each team will plan for it separately. The international friendly tourney which concluded recently helped the team to prepare for the final encounter ,” he concluded.
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