Oman’s representatives Seeb and Dhofar registered a perfect start in their campaign at AFC Cup 2022 as both teams snatched first three winning points in the opener.
Seeb defeated Syria’s Jableh SC 1-0 on Wednesday at Seeb Stadium to collect first three vital points in Group A. Eid al Farsi netted all the important goal in the 45th minute of the fixture.
In the same group, three-time champions Kuwait SC played out a 1-1 draw against Lebanese powerhouse Al Ansar late on Wednesday. With the victory, Seeb are leading the table order by three points.
On the other side, Salalah giants Dhofar began on a bright note as they blanked Shabab Al Khalil of Palestine 3-0 in the opener of Group B at the Kuwait SC Stadium on Wednesday. Dhofar’s triumph was confirmed by Muthna Awadh Bait Amer, Omar al Malki and Awadh al Shahri as they found the target for the Salalah-based team.
The hosts of the group Al Arabi of Kuwait came from behind to beat Al Riffa of Bahrain 3-2 in a late match at Kuwait SC Stadium. Oman’s Dhofar are topping Group B by three points with goal difference than Al Arabi of Kuwait who are second in the group.
In Muscat, HM Cup champions and league title owners Seeb entered debut continental campaign strongly as the starting line up were seeking for the opening goal.
The Syrian opponents were not an easy side as they pressed hard towards Ahmed al Rawahi’s net. The first attempt was from Mahmoud Al Baher but saved by Al Rawahi in the first quarter of the game. The response came from the hosts as Arshad al Alawi and his team-mates in the centre line assisted the strikers including Mohsin al Ghassani who tried to find the goal but Syrian’s Ibrahim Alma entered in the right time to save the attempt.
Before progressing to the break, former national team player Eid al Farsi managed to open the scoring as he struck the only goal in the match prior to the completion of the first half.
In the following half, the hosts continued their pressure to add another goal and lead the match comfortably. Many moves were made by Ahmed al Siyabi and Abdulaziz al Maqbali but all the opportunities were broken by the strong defence of Syria’s Jableh SC. Meanwhile, the same effort was taken by the opponent side to score the equaliser but at the end the match ended for Seeb at 1-0.
Seeb will take on three-time champions Kuwait SC on Saturday in matchday two game while Jableh’s will face neighbours Al Ansar of Lebanon on the same day. Dhofar will face Al Riffa of Bahrain while Al Arabi of Kuwait will meet Shabab Al Khalil of Palestine.
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