MUSCAT, NOV 2
Al Shabab will aim to build on their Gulf Club Champions League breakthrough while Al Seeb pursue their first AFC Champions League Two victory when the Omani clubs return to action on Tuesday, November 3.
Al Shabab welcome Yemen’s Shaab Hadramout to Al Seeb Stadium at 6.45 pm, Muscat time, for their third Group A fixture, buoyed by last week’s 3-1 comeback win over Saudi Arabia’s NEOM.
Dutch coach Eelco Schattorie’s side recovered from an early Giorgos Masouras goal at Al Rustaq Sports Complex, with Pepijn Doesburg scoring twice and Al Mutasim al Maqbali also on target. The victory provided a strong response to their opening 3-0 defeat by Qatar’s Al Duhail.
Al Shabab and NEOM have three points apiece, behind leaders Al Duhail on six. A second successive victory would strengthen the Omani side’s position at the halfway stage, while NEOM host Al Duhail in Tabuk in the group’s other match.
Shaab Hadramout remain without a point after losing 4-0 to NEOM and 2-1 to Al Duhail. However, their improved second-round performance offers a warning: the Yemeni side were denied a draw only by Bassam al Rawi’s penalty deep into stoppage time.
The expanded 12-team competition offers quarterfinal places to the top two in each of its three groups and the two best third-placed sides, with another three fixtures per club following Tuesday’s round.
Earlier, Al Seeb face India’s East Bengal at Kolkata’s Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, also known as Salt Lake Stadium, at 5:45 pm, Muscat time, in Group D’s fourth round.
Last week’s goalless meeting in Oman gave Seeb their first point but left them bottom of the group, one behind East Bengal. Iraq’s Al Shorta lead with seven points, followed by Jordan’s Al Hussein on five.
Czech coach Jiri Chytry’s side are still searching for their first goal in the competition after defeats by Al Shorta, 1-0, and Al Hussein, 3-0, preceded the draw with East Bengal.
Improved finishing will be central to Seeb’s hopes. Abdulaziz al Maqbali helped create an opening for Ahmed al Riyami in the previous encounter, while Axel Meye also threatened, but neither side converted their opportunities.
Victory would lift Seeb to four points and move them above East Bengal, with two matches remaining. Al Hussein host Al Shorta in the other Group D fixture, while only the leading two teams will progress to the round of 16.
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