Muscat: Al Rustaq imprinted their name in the history as they secured spot in the final of the His Majesty’s Cup football championship for the first ever time.
The Southern Batinah team defeated Salalah giants Dhofar 2-0 on Wednesday in a thrilling semifinal second leg. Despite Dhofar’s triumph in the first-leg of semifinal 2-1 at Al Saada Stadium on February 20, the aggregate score ended 3-2 for Al Rustaq as they moved into the historic final of the prestigious HM Cup.
At Al Rustaq Sports Complex and in front of big home fans, coach Deno Katlin's battalion made an impressive show to blank the 10-time winners.
Abas al Hashami and AbdulRahman al Ghassani netted the goals for the hosts in the 77th and 82nd minutes respectively.
Both teams secured their defence in the first half to avoid receiving any goals.
The actual attempts were registered in the last 15 minutes of the game. The initial opportunity in the fixture was through Hatim al Rushdi who hit a powerful grounder which went above Dhofar’s goalkeeper and above the net after a perfect header assist from Mohammed al Ghafri in the 32nd minute.
Al Rustaq’s Mahmood al Shaqsi missed a scoring chance as he met Dhofar’s goalie Dawood al Kahali but Shaqsi’s shot was saved by the defender Sudeek Atenda in the 42nd minute. Two minutes later, Abdullah Fawaz crossed a ball that continued with a strong header from Omar al Malki who could have opened the account for the visitors but Al Rustaq’s goalkeeper Ammar al Rushaidi came to the rescue. The first half ended in a goalless draw.
Dhofar pressed hard from the beginning of the second half as Rasheed Jaber’s men were looking for a goal that could confuse the hosts situation in the encounter.
Qasim Said managed to enter the danger box and met Rustaq’s goalie face-to-face but his shot was saved by Ammar in the 48th minute.
Rustaq players felt dangerous and bounced back strongly to the match. The first response for the visitors in the second half was through Ammar al Shyiadi, who advanced with a scoop pass from his team-mate Mahmood al Shaqsi but the shot went over the bar in the 50th minute.
The excitement rose as both sides pressed hard towards seeking the opening goal. Omar al Malki was very close to score the first goal in the match after Yazeed al Mashani managed to send him a perfect pass but Al Malki’s shot went away from the target in the 63rd minute.
After series of missed chances, Abas al Hashami struck the first goal for the hosts Al Rustaq in the 77th minute. The goal gave more energy for the hosts and few minutes later, AbdulRahman al Ghassani added a second goal in the 82nd minute to confirm Al Rustaq's presence in the title-clash for the first time.
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