Oman beat Kuwait, Saudi trounce Bahrain as battle for last-four tickets in Group B goes to the wire
Kuwait, the Arabian Gulf Cup's most successful team, suffered a 1-2 defeat in the hands of defending champions Oman while Saudi Arabia edged Bahrain 2-0 in the second matches in Group B of the ongoing 24th Arabian Gulf Cup played at the Al Duhail Stadium on Saturday.
The results ensured that the battle for the group’s semi-final tickets goes to the wire as Oman tops the group with four points, while ten-time champions Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are on three points each. Bahrain are stuck on one point courtesy of their drawn game against Oman in their opening match.
Abdulaziz Al Maqbali scored two first-half penalties for Oman before Yousuf Sulaiman pulled one back to ensure a nervy finish.
Oman almost opened the scoring when a long ball launched from midfield evaded all of the Kuwaiti defenders and found Muhsen Al Ghassani in the box. He took a touch to control the ball but with the keeper bearing down on him, he could not convert.
It would not be long though before Oman opened the scoring. Mohsen Al Ghassani was brought down in the box in the 16th minute, but the referee turned to the video assistant referee (VAR) to make sure a foul had been committed and the spot kick was subsequently given.
Al Maqbali made no mistake from the spot, firing the ball low to the hapless Hameed Yousef right and into the net to open scoring for the coach Irwin Koeman lads.
The second penalty kick for the Omanis came off a clumsy play by goalkeeper Yousef just before the half-hour mark. A long ball from Al Sulaiman Al Busaidi released the 30-year-old Al Maqbali on the left, only for Yousef to recklessly bring down the Suwaiq Club striker in the box.
While the referee might have needed VAR to make sure of the foul that led to the first goal, he did not need it for the second. Al Maqbali once again chose the same side and made it two from the spot, Oman taking a 2-0 lead into half time.
With Kuwait down by two goals at half time, coach Tamer Enad made a double change at half time, taking off Abdullah Al Buraiki and Fahad Al Ansari for Faisal Al Harbi and Mubarak Al Faneni. However, the latter's time on the pitch would last for less than 15 minutes. Al Faneni suffered an injury near the Oman box and Enad was forced to substitute the substitute, replacing him with Shabib Al Khaldi.
Despite a flurry of charges at the Omani defense in the second half, the Kuwaiti’s consolation goal only came in the 79th when Al Sulaiman pulled one back with a left-footed shot from outside the box.
Meanwhile, three-time winners Saudi Arabia got their campaign back on track with a convincing 2-0 win over Bahrain.
Goals from Abdullah al-Hamdan and Mohamed al-Khabrani in each half gave the Saudis, who were trounced 3-1 by the Kuwaitis in the opener, the needed breather as they go up against Oman in their last match of the group on Monday.
The coach Herve Renard side would need a victory against the Omanis for any hope of securing the last-four berth while Bahrain, who are in fourth position in the group with just one point need to beat Kuwait and also hope Saudi will lose to Oman.
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