MUSCAT: Seeb and Al Nasr booked their places in the final of the inaugural Jindal Youth League after overcoming Al Khabourah and Saham respectively in the semifinals, setting up an all-Group One contest for the title.
Seeb continued their impressive campaign with a convincing 4-1 victory over Al Khabourah, maintaining the momentum that saw them dominate Group One with a perfect record during the preliminary stage.
The Group One winners entered the semifinals having won all six of their matches, scoring 31 goals and conceding only two. They carried that attacking form into the knockout stage, scoring four more goals to move within one victory of completing an outstanding campaign with the title.
Al Khabourah, who qualified for the semifinals as runners-up in Group Two, saw their run come to an end after a competitive campaign in which they collected 11 points from six group matches.
The other semifinal produced a much tighter contest as Al Nasr overcame Group Two winners Saham following a penalty shootout.
The two sides could not be separated in regulation time, with the match ending 1-1 before Al Nasr prevailed 4-3 on penalties to secure second place in the final.
Al Nasr had finished second in Group One behind Seeb, collecting 13 points from six matches and scoring 28 goals. Their semifinal victory keeps alive their hopes of ending the competition by overcoming the only team to finish above them in the preliminary stage.
Saham, meanwhile, bow out after an impressive campaign. They topped Group Two with 15 points from six matches, recording five victories and suffering just one defeat before being edged out in the shootout.
The final will now bring together the top two sides from Group One, with Seeb looking to complete an unbeaten campaign and Al Nasr aiming to claim the inaugural title.
The two sides have already met once during the group stage, when Seeb secured a 4-1 victory over Al Nasr. However, the final presents a different challenge, with the championship to be decided in a single match.
With both teams demonstrating strong attacking form throughout the competition, the title showdown promises an exciting conclusion to the first edition of the Jindal Youth League.
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