Muscat: Three-time champions Al Suwaiq and runners-up Al Rustaq secured spots in the semifinals of the HM Cup as they moved successfully from the quarterfinals.
The northern Batinah team edged Al Bashayer 1-0 in the second leg match on Friday night at Nizwa Sports Complex. The first leg match ended in favour of Al Suwaiq as well with a 3-0 score on January 29. With the aggregate result ending 4-0, Al Suwaiq confirmed their presence in the semifinals of the coveted cup.
In the late match on Friday, Al Rustaq and Oman Club fixture ended in a 1-1 draw. The southern Batinah-based team benefited from their 1-0 away game win on January 29. The accumulative result finished in a 2-1 result for Al Rustaq to ensure their second successive entry in the last-four stage of the tournament.
Al Suwaiq will meet Seeb in the semifinals while Al Rustaq will take on Al Nahda.
Abdul Muain al Marzooqi scored the all-important goal for Al Suwaiq in the 76th minute of the game after a perfect pass from Omar al Fazari reached Abdul Muain who converted it to a goal through a strong ball from outside the box.
In another crucial game between Al Rustaq and Oman Club, Ahmed al Adawi put his team Al Rustaq ahead in the 60th minute through a header. Coach Idrees al Marabat’s men pressed hard to return back to the match as Mahmood al Hasani managed to equalise for Oman Club side in the 84th minute. Later, Al Rustaq players tightened their defence to break the opponent’s attempts. In this edition of the championship, Al Rustaq will chase their first title after they had ended as runners-up in the last edition in March, 2022.
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