JEDDAH, 21 January 2007 — Oman made it to the semifinals of 18th Gulf Championship in Abu Dhabi after defeating Kuwait 2-1 in Group-A action. Oman’s last match in the group against Yemen will be a comfortable ride since the team qualifies even if they lose. This is not so for Kuwait, which is in a critical situation with one draw against Yemen 1-1 in the opening match and a defeat against Oman 2-1. The Kuwaitis need to win the last match, and preferably win by a long shot, against hosts UAE - the cheers of the crowd in the event of a draw or defeat against the home team will be Kuwait’s dirge that escorts it out of the competition.

After a brief five minutes where both teams tested each other, Imad Al-Housani, Oman’s striker, drew first blood with a spectacular goal in the eighth minute of the first half when he cut through Kuwait defense line and outmaneuvered Kuwaiti goalie Nawaf Al-Khaldi landing the ball squarely in the back of the net.

The game escalated right along with the tension among the players who bristled and bordered that fine line between play and foul. Kuwait pushed forward seeking an equalizer before the end of the first half, but the Omani defense line was on alert and managed to foiled all attempts. In the second half, the Omani team drew back and relied on fast counterattacks.

Oman tried many times to widen the gap and score another goal to squeeze the motivation of the Kuwaiti team like drops of sweat, but the defense line was also on alert against these attempts. Kuwait came more than once in the second half to score an equalizer, particularly in the 65th minute when Al-Fahd’s header went over the top bar.

The Kuwaiti team’s effort finally paid off in the 82nd minute when Fahd Al-Fahd received a nice through ball behind the Omani defense line and from a nice cross inside the penalty box. Fahd Al-Rasheedi managed to escape Oman’s guard and put the ball in the back of the net.

Kuwait joy lasted exactly three minutes until Hashem Saleh managed to shut the Kuwaiti fans up with a spectacular goal from afar, causing the Kuwaiti goalie to blanche.

With this result, Oman take the lead with six points and Kuwait cling on to little more than hope as it’s do-or-die for them against the home team. Meanwhile, home-team UAE kept their own hopes alive and well with its defeat of Yemen 2-1. With only one mission in mind, which is to win the match at any cost, the team pushed forward from the first minute. The pressure quickly paid off and resulted in a penalty kick in the first minute. Muhammad Omar scored the fastest goal in the competition for UAE. The UAE were better organized and determined to secure the game’s three points knowing that a draw or a defeat would mean a humiliating exit at home and in front of their countrymen.

The Yemenis have performed fiercely, defending their turf like it was a Hadramaut house under siege. But, alas, to no avail: The Yemeni team received a big hit as Basheer Saeed scored the second goal for UAE team from a header. The Yemeni goalkeeper made a bad judgment as he left his post to clear the ball but instead he left the goal open and the ball went easily in the back of the net. Yeman managed to exploit a UAE defense mistake and score the first goal in the 90th minute by Alaa Al-Saasi. The Yemeni team continued to push forward, but with no luck. The UAE team is now in second place with three points and Yemen are third with one point equal with Kuwait.

Today, in the Iron Group-B, the Iraqi team will face Bahrain in the first match of the group and the Saudi team is looking to eliminate Qatar in the second match and qualify early to the next round. If Iraq and Saudi Arabia won the matches, then they both automatically qualify to the next round and that would mean an early exit for Bahrain and Qatar. Any result other than that would mean that the last round of the group is a deciding one.