Muscat: The Ministry of Information 'B' team lifted the title of the Oman Journalists Association's (OJA) Ramadhan football tournament after beating their counterparts the Ministry of Information 'A' team 1-0 in a thrilling final match on Wednesday.
Ashraf al Zedi scored the most important goal in the first half and led his team to clinch the OJA title.
In the second half, the Ministry of Information 'A' team pressed hard to score the equaliser but their scoring attempts were prevented by the tough defence and strong performance from the goalkeeper.
The final match ceremony was held at the Al Hilal football ground in Athaiba under the auspices of Dr Mohammed bin Mubarak al Oraimi, Chairman of OJA, in the presence of Salim al Jahwari, head of sports media at OJA, and committee organisers.
Eight teams took part in the first edition of the OJA football tournament. All the teams were distributed into two groups and each group featured four teams. The Ministry of Information 'B' team topped Group A as they won all the matches against Omantel, Tamkeen for media and OJA 'B' team.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Information 'A' team led Group B as they won all the games against Oman News Agency, OJA 'A' team and Al Roya newspaper team.
COACH ELATED
The Ministry of Information 'B' team's head coach Hilal al Shandudi said his team entered the friendly tournament with a purpose of winning the title. “We managed to lift the title after tough competitions. Thanks to all the players for their top performance during the tournament. Also, I would like to thank the Ministry of Information for their continuous support to the team players. A special thanks to the organising committee to host and organise this friendly tournament among the media organisations and we are looking for more in the coming period,” he said.
Dr Mohammed bin Mubarak al Oraimi, Chairman of OJA, affirmed that this tournament showed some top technical skills and capabilities that some players have from different media teams. “The OJA is very keen to follow up through its sub-committees to organise different activities whether inside or outside the Sultanate of Oman including the sporting events. Our target is to support Omani media personnel in all the functions,” he said.
In the concluding ceremony, Osama al Shaqsi, captain of the Ministry of Information 'B' team, received the trophy from the chief guest with gold medals, while the runners-up the Ministry of Information 'A' team players received silver medals. Omantel team players bagged the third place bronze medals as they won the third and fourth play-off against Al Roya newspaper team.
The chief guest also gave away the trophies to the individuals awards. Mohammed al Barashadi from the Ministry of Information 'A' team got the top-scorer prize. Mahmood al Abri from the Ministry of Information 'B' team grabbed the best goalkeeper award. Hashim al Jabri from the Ministry of Information 'A' won the most valuable player award.
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