A LATE goal by Mohammed Al Ghassani gave Oman’s Saham a crucial 3-2 win over Muharraq in the first round group stages of the 2017 AFC Cup in Muscat last night, reports MAZIN RIZK
Muharraq’s German coach Robert Jasbert fielded Sayed Mohammed Jaffar in goal while Waleed Al Hayam, Ahmed Deeb, Ali Ghaleb and Mohammed Al Banna played in defence.
The midfield consisted of Mohammed Al Hardan, Hesham Mansour, Abdulla Abdo and Nelson with Ali Jamal and Ismail Abdullatif entered the fray as strikers.
Muharraq opened the scoring in the 10th minute through Dutch midfielder Nelson, who was on the receiving end of a cross by Abdullatif, and he slotted the ball easily into the net.
Saham’s Abdulla Al Jabri equalised for the hosts in the 32nd minute after picking up a rebound in the box and placing it into the back of the net through goalkeeper Jaffar’s legs.
The Omanis managed to take the lead in the 44th minute with Mohsin Jouhar unleashing a left footed shot from outside the box which left the Bahrain goalkeeper standing helpless.
In the second-half, Muharraq adopted a more attacking approach as they tried to get the equaliser.
Strategy
The change in strategy worked as they won a penalty in the 51st minute after Saham’s Ahmed Al Breiki handed the ball in his own penalty box while trying to clear a cross.
Abdo placed the ball onto the right hand side of the Omani goalkeeper Sulaiman Al Breiki, who jumped the wrong way.
A quick counter attack in the 88th minute saw Saham break the deadlock after a long ball played towards Moatasem Al Shebli was crossed towards Al Ghassani and the last named scored the match-winner while Muharraq players protested the referee’s decision not to call for an offside.
The protests kept going on until the end of the match during which Bahrain captain and goalkeeper Jaffar was shown a red card.
Also in Group ‘C’, Jordanian side Al Wehdat beat Lebanon’s Al Nejmeh 1-0 in Amman. In the second round, Muharraq hosts Al Wehdat while Saham visits Nejmeh on March 7.