Ten-time champions Kuwait thump Saudis, Oman held to goalless draw
Ten-time champions Kuwait once again proved their mettle with a convincing 3-1 defeat of Saudi Arabia in their Group B encounter of the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup played at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium on Wednesday.
Two first-half goals from Qadsia SC midfielder Ahmed Al Dhefiri and Kuwait SC defender Sami al-Sanea effectively put the game to an early bed for the coach Thamer Enad team before Mubarak al-Faneni added the icing to the cake with the third in the 90th minute. The Green Falcons’ consolation goal came through Feras Tariq with almost the last kick of the match.
Three-time champions Saudi Arabia had the upper hand in the opening period of the encounter and the coach Herve Renard’s side nearly opened, scoring in the 29th minute, but Sultan Al Ghannam sent his effort into the side netting.
Four minutes later, Kuwait goalkeeper Hameed Yousef blocked Feras Albrikan's shot from point blank range.
Kuwait, the tournament’s most successful team, stunned the Saudis two minutes before the break, as Bader Al Mutawaa's lob was finished by Al Dhefiri’s left-footed shot past Saudi goalkeeper Fawaz Alqarni.
Kuwait's joy doubled in the first minute of added time with Al Mutawaa again the architect as he sent a long pass to Al Sanea who beat the offside trap, evaded the goalkeeper and fired into an empty net.
Despite making two changes at half time, Mohammed Kanno replacing Hassan Tombakti and Abdulfattah Asiri for Abdulaziz Al Bishi, it was the Kuwaitis who remained in control of proceedings and their seemingly impassable wall of defence marshalled by Sanea and Fahad Al Hajeri proved too difficult for the Saudis to penetrate with the Saudis only able to muster a clear shot at goal in the 72nd minute but Saud Abdulhamid sent his effort from inside the area over the crossbar.
Kuwait sealed the points with just seconds of regulation time remaining, as Al Faneni broke clear and scored from an acute angle.
In the other match of the day, defending champions Oman began their title defense on a muted note as they were held to a goalless draw by a resolute Bahrain.
A number of yellow cards were handed out during the game, with Bahraini defender Mohammed Al Rumaihi being the first to go into the book in the 11th minute before subsequent bookings were made for Oman’s Harib Al Saadi (24’) and Al Mandhar Al Alawi, a few minutes before half time.
The match saw a slow start with Oman having their first look at goal in the 30th minute, as Al Mandhar Al Alawi tested Sayed Shubbar with a powerful shot, which the Bahrain goalkeeper blocked with his legs.
Bahrain had a chance of their own in the 38th minute when Komail Alaswad had a shot from outside the area but Oman goalkeeper Faiyz Al Rusheidi was in the right place to collect the ball.
Oman applied more pressure in the second half and came close in the 52nd minute but Shubbar parried Muhsen Al Ghassani's effort. In the end, the two sides had to settle for a stalemate and will be going into their next matches with the hope of winning for any chances of advancing out of the group stages.
Saudi Arabia will next be up against Bahrain on Saturday at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in what is expected to be a decisive match while the Omanis take on in-form Kuwait.
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