JEDDAH: As expected, Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are in the final of the 19th Arabian Gulf Cup Championship when they beat Qatar and Kuwait by an identical 1-0 margins in Muscat yesterday.
Hasan Rabea for Oman and Ahmad Al-Fareedi of Saudi Arabia got the match winners for their respective teams.
Host Oman, playing in front of a packed stadium, dominated proceedings against Qatar and did not disappoint their fans. They are now one win away from achieving Gulf Cup history provided they win the final.
Oman, who lost the title on two previous occasions against Qatar and the UAE, will face a different opposition this time and will find it difficult to put it across the Saudis.
However, the Omani fans are optimistic and are hopeful that this time the cup will stay in Oman and will not fly to Riyadh.
On the other hand if the Saudis win the title it will boost their confidence the will help them in their preparations for the World Cup qualifying matches.
Naser Al-Jowhar, Saudi coach, proved once again that he can do the impossible and that he is not an emergency coach or a replacement. He proved to all critics that he could lead the Saudi team to the Gulf Cup victory.
Saudi Arabia was more dominant in their match against Kuwait and controlled midfield giving little or no room to their opponents to make any dangerous moves.
After some foiled attempts on the Kuwaiti goal, the men in green were finally rewarded for their efforts in the 63rd minute when star midfielder Tayseer Al-Jasim beat a couple of defender inside the penalty box and gave a perfect cross to unmarked Ahmad Al-Fareedi who did not find any difficulty placing the ball at the back of the net which eventually proved to be the match winner. Kuwait, in search of an equalizer, pushed hard but failed to break the strong Saudi defense who relied on quick counter attacks.
The Saudis almost scored during one of these attacks just at the call of time when Malek Muaz received a fine pass inside the penalty box but hesitated to react thinking he was offside. The Kuwaitis, though regrets for failing to reach the final, but expressed their satisfaction with the results saying that it is an achievement for them to reach the semifinal.
Saudi players on the other hand has put this game behind and are now looking forward to their final against Oman hoping to win the tile for the fourth time, which will not be an easy task.
