Muscat: Dhofar moved into the semifinals of the HM Cup after beating Al Suwaiq 6-5 on penalties in the second leg of the quarterfinal after the regulation and extra time ended 1-0 for Suwaiq.
The first leg match ended with the same result for Dhofar 1-0 at Al Saada Stadium on January 19. With the aggregate result ending 1-1, the match went into penalties where Dhofar pipped Al Suwaiq 6-5 in a battle of nerves.
At Al Rustaq Sports Complex on Thursday, Ibrahima Kamara scored the only goal in the second leg match. Al Suwaiq was the better side in the first half of the encounter.
The team started the fixture eyeing on scoring the opening goal as Welmerson managed to net an early goal in the first minute but it was cancelled by the referee Yaqboob Abdul Baqi due to offside.
The active man, Welmerson, missed another scoring attempt as his ball was saved by the hosts goalkeeper Sulieman al Buraiki in the fifth minute.
The Northern Batinah team’s players continued seeking for their opening goal and they succeeded as Ibrahima Kamara managed to score the first goal in the 21st minute.
The goal gave more enthusiasm for Al Suwaiq and they were looking for another goal to lead in the match. Moreover, Al Suwaiq registered a crucial win over Saham recently in the last round of Omantel League.
Welmerson sent a strong ball from inside the box but went to the left side of Dhofar’s custodian in the 32nd minute. The first appearance of the hosts in the first half was through Omar al Malki but his ball was saved by the former national team goalkeeper Mazin al Kasbi before the first half ended by four minutes.
In the second half, Dhofar’s Ali Salim made some attempts to score the equalizer but his right-footed shot went away from the net.
Oman national football team's Yazeed al Mashani, failed to place the ball into Mazin’s net as his ball was saved by Al Kasbi in the 76th minute.
The second half ended with Al Suwaiq leading 1-0 and both teams went to extra halfs. The same result continued without any change and then the game went to the penalties which ended in favour of Dhofar.
The other second leg matches of the quarterfinal of HM Cup will complete on Friday as Fanja (nine times winner) will host Al Nasr at Seeb Stadium.
The match will kick off at 5:20 pm. Al Rustaq, who are chasing for their first title, will meet Nizwa in another clash which will begin at 8:00 pm at Al Rustaq Sports Complex.
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