MUSCAT — Opening matches are always tricky and things weren’t different on the inaugural day of the 19th Arabian Gulf Cup, when both Oman and Kuwait battled hard to overcome the 
nervy jitters to share the spoils with a goalless draw at the packed Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher yesterday.
The pressure of playing in front of the home fans showed large on the Oman players as they struggled to get into a rhythm and were often seen fumbling at the finish.
On the contrary, the Kuwaitis were steady on the pitch, especially their star strikers Ahmed Lazmi and Badr Al Matwa testing Ali Al Habsi time and again.
However, the Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper stood like a rock making crucial saves, though at times he appeared to be having butter fingers.
Nevertheless, Ali Al Habsi emerged the hero of the day, and rightly earned the player of the match award.
Many doubted Kuwait’s credentials in this tournament, but they lived up to the reputation of being the nine-time Gulf Cup champions.
Off the arena due to Fifa suspension, Kuwait hardly showed that they are out of touch as a team and they definitely deserve applause for the gritty show.
No wonder Oman coach Claude Le Roy admitted that if any team deserved to win yesterday it was indeed Kuwait.
“My congratulation go to Mohammed Ibrahim (Kuwait coach) for inspiring his players to put up such a great show,” said Claude Le Roy.
“I agree that our players were nervous, but we had done a lot of homework to overcome these early jitters,” said the shrewd Frenchman, who was obviously not happy with his team’s performance yesterday.
“But for Ali Al Habsi’s brilliance, we could have lost the match badly,” said the coach. “But we too had a number of chances, which we could not convert into goals.”
Mohammed Ibrahim sounded pleased with the result. “Both the teams played well but many chances were missed by both sides. My players too lacked the fitness and that showed in their game. We need to improve for the next two matches against Bahrain and Iraq,” he said.
Claude Le Roy agreed that the solitary point earned from the match was just a lucky one. “We can’t depend solely on such luck and we need to improve and go for full points in the next two matches,” he said.
“I want the players to forget this match and start concentrating on the next one. We will try to plug all holes which were so evident today (yesterday),” said Claude Le Roy.
“This result is for me and I hope our team will do better in the matches to follow,” he added.
The Oman coach was indeed perfect in his predictions as his warning of the two Kuwaiti strikers, Ahmed Lazmi and Badr Al Matwa, turned true yesterday. The duo were really dangerous and the Omani defence had no answer to their brilliant aggression.
The Kuwaiti midfielders too were excellent as they deceived Oman’s motives with short passes and in flashes fed their strikers with perfection.
Though the first half can be termed even stevens for both the teams, it was Oman who pushed for an early goal. Hassan Rabe’ea and Ismail Al Ajmi came close in the initial ten minutes only to find Ahmed Lazmi missing a golden opportunity in the eleventh minute with only Al Habsi to beat.
Later in the first half, Hassan Mudhafar gave Oman fans a big scare, when he almost scored an own goal in the 35th minute while trying to clear a goal-bound ball.
Hassan Rabe’ea once again looked threatening when he missed the target by a whisker in the 36th minute.
Claude Le Roy made two changes in the second half, bringing in Ahmed Maena and trump card Hashim Saleh for Ahmed Hadid and Ismail Al Ajmi. Ahmed Maena did cause a flutter and so did Hashim Saleh, but both failed to beat Kuwait goalkeeper Nawaf Khalid. On the other hand, Kuwaiti defenders succeeded in nullifying the threat of Imad Al Hosni, which too negated Oman’s thrust upfront.
On the other side, Ali Al Habsi made two brilliant saves — both threatening attempts by Ahmed Lazmi. Saleh Al Hindi also found Ali Al Habsi coming in his way, when it looked a sure goal.
With just seven minutes left, Hashim Saleh flattered to deceive when he pushed to the Kuwait goalkeeper. The diminutive striker, who was left unmarked, could have very well lobbed the ball into the net.
All said and done, Oman with just one point in their kitty, need to look for win over Iraq on Wednesday and enhance their chance to qualify for the semifinals.
nervy jitters to share the spoils with a goalless draw at the packed Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher yesterday.The pressure of playing in front of the home fans showed large on the Oman players as they struggled to get into a rhythm and were often seen fumbling at the finish.
On the contrary, the Kuwaitis were steady on the pitch, especially their star strikers Ahmed Lazmi and Badr Al Matwa testing Ali Al Habsi time and again.
However, the Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper stood like a rock making crucial saves, though at times he appeared to be having butter fingers.
Nevertheless, Ali Al Habsi emerged the hero of the day, and rightly earned the player of the match award.
Many doubted Kuwait’s credentials in this tournament, but they lived up to the reputation of being the nine-time Gulf Cup champions.
Off the arena due to Fifa suspension, Kuwait hardly showed that they are out of touch as a team and they definitely deserve applause for the gritty show.
No wonder Oman coach Claude Le Roy admitted that if any team deserved to win yesterday it was indeed Kuwait.
“My congratulation go to Mohammed Ibrahim (Kuwait coach) for inspiring his players to put up such a great show,” said Claude Le Roy.
“I agree that our players were nervous, but we had done a lot of homework to overcome these early jitters,” said the shrewd Frenchman, who was obviously not happy with his team’s performance yesterday.
“But for Ali Al Habsi’s brilliance, we could have lost the match badly,” said the coach. “But we too had a number of chances, which we could not convert into goals.”
Mohammed Ibrahim sounded pleased with the result. “Both the teams played well but many chances were missed by both sides. My players too lacked the fitness and that showed in their game. We need to improve for the next two matches against Bahrain and Iraq,” he said.
Claude Le Roy agreed that the solitary point earned from the match was just a lucky one. “We can’t depend solely on such luck and we need to improve and go for full points in the next two matches,” he said.
“I want the players to forget this match and start concentrating on the next one. We will try to plug all holes which were so evident today (yesterday),” said Claude Le Roy.
“This result is for me and I hope our team will do better in the matches to follow,” he added.
The Oman coach was indeed perfect in his predictions as his warning of the two Kuwaiti strikers, Ahmed Lazmi and Badr Al Matwa, turned true yesterday. The duo were really dangerous and the Omani defence had no answer to their brilliant aggression.
The Kuwaiti midfielders too were excellent as they deceived Oman’s motives with short passes and in flashes fed their strikers with perfection.
Though the first half can be termed even stevens for both the teams, it was Oman who pushed for an early goal. Hassan Rabe’ea and Ismail Al Ajmi came close in the initial ten minutes only to find Ahmed Lazmi missing a golden opportunity in the eleventh minute with only Al Habsi to beat.
Later in the first half, Hassan Mudhafar gave Oman fans a big scare, when he almost scored an own goal in the 35th minute while trying to clear a goal-bound ball.
Hassan Rabe’ea once again looked threatening when he missed the target by a whisker in the 36th minute.
Claude Le Roy made two changes in the second half, bringing in Ahmed Maena and trump card Hashim Saleh for Ahmed Hadid and Ismail Al Ajmi. Ahmed Maena did cause a flutter and so did Hashim Saleh, but both failed to beat Kuwait goalkeeper Nawaf Khalid. On the other hand, Kuwaiti defenders succeeded in nullifying the threat of Imad Al Hosni, which too negated Oman’s thrust upfront.
On the other side, Ali Al Habsi made two brilliant saves — both threatening attempts by Ahmed Lazmi. Saleh Al Hindi also found Ali Al Habsi coming in his way, when it looked a sure goal.
With just seven minutes left, Hashim Saleh flattered to deceive when he pushed to the Kuwait goalkeeper. The diminutive striker, who was left unmarked, could have very well lobbed the ball into the net.
All said and done, Oman with just one point in their kitty, need to look for win over Iraq on Wednesday and enhance their chance to qualify for the semifinals.
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