Muscat: Rustaq club defeated Bahla 3-2 in a thrilling match on Saturday evening at the Rustaq Sports Complex in the 14th round of Omantel League.
In a first half full of excitement, both teams shared the periods of the 45 minutes. Bahla started quickly and managed to score a goal in the first minute, but it was ruled out. The game changed and Rustaq took possession of the ball, while Bahla relied on a defensive style due to the high pressure from Rustaq players.
Rustaq players were able to create several dangerous chances on Bahla's goal, and the first goal came from a corner kick that was met by Soumahoro header to score the lead goal in the 14th minute.
After the lead, Rustaq players continued with the same attacking style and looked for the second goal, while Bahla players tried to create some chances that did not pose any danger to Rustaq's goal. In the 27th minute, Rustaq was awarded a penalty kick after their player Mohammed al Ghafri was fouled after facing Bahla goalkeeper Salah al Hanbali. Al Ghafri kicked the penalty to scored the second goal.
After scoring two goals, the pace of the game slowed down for Rustaq players, which allowed Bahla players to put pressure on Rustaq's goal in the last minutes of the first half. In the 37th minute, Bahla was awarded a penalty kick after a foul inside the box, Loki scored the first goal for Bahla through the penalty, which made the match more exciting due to the close performance of the two teams. Bahla came back and scored the equaliser through a header by Mahboob Juma in the last minute of added time and the referee announced the end of the first half with the two teams tied 2-2.
The second half was more exciting, as the two teams were tied 2-2. The match saw more chances from both teams in an attempt to get the three points. Rustaq player Mohammed al Ghafri fired a powerful shot from outside the area that went past the left post of Bahla goalkeeper in the 55th minute. Bahla player Majid al Shikili responded with a powerful shot from inside the area that Rustaq goalkeeper managed to save with difficulty outside the area.
The two teams exchanged attacks without any advantage for either side, with parity on both sides. Rustaq managed to score the third goal through a header by Musab al Sharqi after receiving a cross from the left side and it hit the net of Bahla goalkeeper in the 81st minute. Rustaq striker Mohammed bin Humaid al Ghafri missed a chance to score a goal when he fired the ball past the right post of Bahla goalkeeper. Bahla coach made a number of changes in an attempt to return to the match and he had a number of chances but they were not exploited properly. The match ended with Rustaq winning 3-2 against Bahla.
With this result, Rustaq raised their points tally to 17 points, in seventh place in the league standings, one goal behind Ibrai. Bahla's points tally remained at 6 points, in 12th (last) place.
Al Wahda Snatch First Victory Against Sur
In the second match, Al Wahda achieved their first victory in the Omantel League this season on Saturday, defeating Sur 1-0 at the Sur Sports Complex in the 14th round.
The only goal of the match was scored by Younis al Sunaidi in the 89th minute, to raise his team's points tally to 10 points, in 11th place in the standings (second from last).
As for Sur, their points tally remained at 13 points, in ninth place, leaving the gap between them and Al Wahda at just 3 points, entering the relegation battle.
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