MUSCAT, MARCH 13
Seeb’s hopes to secure spot in semifinals of AFC Challenge League 2024-25 were dashed by Kuwait’s Al Arabi as the home-leg match of quarterfinal ended at 2-2 draw on Wednesday night at the Seeb Stadium.
The first-leg match in Kuwait finished in favour of Al Arabi by 1-0 last week. With an aggregate win of 3-2, Al Arabi confirmed their spot in the semifinals as they set up a clash against Turkmenistan’s FC Arkadag who managed to win against East Bengal of India in an overall 3-1 result.
At the Seeb Stadium, Seeb took the advantage of the home match and fans support as they were the best side in the first half through the active movement of Ali al Busaidy, Abdulaziz al Maqbali and Abdulrahman al Mushefri. The hosts depended on the cross balls into the box to threaten Al Arabi defending line. Ali al Busaidy and Abdulaziz al Maqbali were attempting shots from outside the box but failed to seriously trouble the goalkeeper.
Despite Seeb’s early active pressure, Al Arabi managed to break the deadlock and take the lead in the 23rd minute through Hussain Ashkanani as he benefited from Omar al Fazari’s mistake to convert the ball into the target.
Seeb players worked hard to make a comeback as they were supposed to score two goals. Oman national team former striker Abdulaziz al Maqbali delivered a powerful left-footed shot from the right edge of the penalty area but his shot was saved by goalkeeper Suleiman Abdulghafour who made a brilliant save in the 33rd minute.
Four minutes before the end of the first half, Abdulrahman al Mushefri equalised for Seeb following a well-planned attempt began by Eid al Farsi, who sent a perfect ground cross to the box area and found Omar al Fazari. Al Fazari's initial strike was saved by Abdulghafour but Al Mushefri followed up strongly to make it 1-1 at the half-time.
The home side started the second half strongly as they were looking to score the second goal. Abdulaziz al Maqbali could nearly take the lead in the 55th minute but his attempt was denied by Hasan Hamdan as Zaher al Aghbari led a swift counterattack down the left before passing to Al Busaidy who delivered a dangerous cross into the box. Once again, Suleiman Abdulghafour managed to save his net but the ball fell to striker Abdulaziz whose low drive narrowly missed the left post.
The response from Al Arabi came in the 62nd minute through free-kick from Kamil al Aswad which struck the defensive wall before Ali al Busaidy cleared the ball off the goal line. Abdulghafour was the star of the match as he saved again a powerful header from Abdulaziz al Maqbali in the 71st minute.
Seeb head coach Nikola Djurovic decided to focus in attacking side through some substitutions as the match was approaching towards the end. The substitute, Abu Bakr Kamara, was entered on right time to deliver Seeb a crucial second goal through header following a deep free-kick from Jameel al Yahmadi in the 89th minute. The second half ended for Seeb at 2-1 and both teams went to an extra-time to decide the winner.
In the 102nd minute, Algerian defender Sofiane Bouchar of Al Arabi managed to deliver a crucial goal for his team after directing a powerful header into the net to make it 2-2 and 3-2 as an aggregate win.
Seeb player Eid al Farsi said that the team players delivered all their efforts during the match. “Our focus as a team were in this prestigious AFC Challenge League. We worked very hard to deliver all our efforts in order to go further in this event but finally we lost due to some minor mistakes in the game. This is football as we are accepting the win we have to accept the loss. Good luck for Al Arabi in the remaining rounds of the event. Special thanks for our fans for their support,” he concluded.
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