The cars had started honking, breaking the silent nights. Thousands of people, decked out in red, were out there on the streets dancing. Oman…Oman…they chanted together, to be heard from heavens above. With the first big win, the coveted Gulf Cup has already been won, it seemed. People of the Sultanate cannot think otherwise.
Indeed, the celebrations that broke loose from the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex stadium literally took the country’s capital by storm. “How was Oman today? Don’t you think the Cup is ours this time?” yelled youths who stuck out their heads out from passing cars. This is no celebration but just a tip of the iceberg; it’s written clearly on their faces.
Claude Le Roy and his boys were determined to win the match against Iraq in a big way. And the thousands of ardent soccer fans who thronged the stadium knew they would, and they knew their role, as clearly stated by a fuming Ali Al Habsi at the end of the first match against Kuwait that ended in a goalless draw. They came prepared this time to cheer the team to victory, not giving their vocal chords a single minute’s rest. Jam-packed was the stadium even hours before the start of the match. And it didn’t take even a fraction of a second for Ali who stepped into the ground for the warm-up session to understand that his appeal had found the target. The stadium rose to greet him and the entire team, and it never sat back.
The stadium, that housed about 26,000 people, shook at the 24th minute. It went crazy at the 50th, and what happened after the 65th and 79th minutes could only have been felt. Celebrations had begun and the night was still young.
In jubilant mood were the players after their teams’ big victory. They removed their shirts to fling them on to the waiting fans in the stands. Displaying true sportsmanship, Ahmed Mubarak Kanu didn’t ignore the Iraqi support, whose cheering was sunk by the great roar. His shirt was for them.
The celebrations found the streets in no time. Cars honked and moved slowly with youngsters, and even kids atop, waving flags and ignoring police warnings. Traffic on the main roads slowed down as people headed to the Qurum beach area. They moved from one round-about to another, circling the city. This night was theirs.
It’s just the beginning. If the fireworks at Hotel Atlantis that lit up the Dubai sky could be visible from space, Oman would be heard and seen from the moon once they win the final battle.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Celebration for Oman first Victory against Iraq on GCC Cup 2009
Accident in Al Khoud, Muscat Oman
Early morning, along a street in Al khoud, a bus hit a 4WD on one of the intersection causing the 4WD to screech and move the away way around. This happen a few meters away from my house. There were some Omani lady in the 4WD drive car but they all seems to be fine.Sunday, January 4, 2009
Oman is a good start for Bahrain as they beat Iraq on their first match on the GCC Cup 2009
MUSCAT — Two red cards, two penalty goals…After so many on-field dramas, Milan Macala’s orange brigade, Bahrain, beat a beleaguered Iraqi side 3-1 in the second match of Group A held at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex yesterday.
In a tension-packed game, Iraq’s Haitham Kazi Tahir got the first red card in the 25th minute of the first half of play for knocking down Mohammed Hubail, reducing the Iraqi side to ten players. The Bahrain side took full advantage of the situation when Abdulla Omar scored the first goal in the 27th minute. Iraq’s goalkeeper, Ali Hussein Arahima, was the second player to receive the red card after he caught Bahrain’s Abdulla Omar by hand. Although Iraq sacrificed by replacing Ali Hussein with Mahdi Ageel as goalkeeper, the team was reduced to nine players. And to add to their woes, the team also conceded a penalty, scored by Said Adnan.
Bahrain also received two yellow cards (red) from match referee Mohammed Junaibi. Iraq’s only goal came in the form of a penalty from their star striker Yunis Kalaf. But as the match was extended to injury time, Bahrain’s Fawzi Aish struck the third goal.
A delighted Macala praised his team for the convincing victory, but pointed out a lot of mistakes that his side had committed. “I saw a lot of mistakes in both the defense and the offence. We shall rectify those mistakes in the next match,” said Macala at the post-match press conference yesterday.
Asked if Oman is his favourite hunting ground, Macala gave a diplomatic answer, admitting that his side was under some pressure before heading to Muscat. “It’s good to be back again, but this championship is difficult and like I mentioned earlier, we were under a lot of pressure due to various reasons,” said the former coach of Oman.
“We played to our potential. Ask the referee why he gave red cards to Iraq and not me. You can’t call it lucky, but of course we took full advantage of it and that’s how football has to be played,” the shrewd coach said on being asked if his side had been fortunate enough to win after the Iraqi side had been reduced to nine players.
Asked if the win had boosted the morale of his side to win the Gulf Cup for the first time, Macala said his side had some more troubles ahead and that it was still only the first round of the tournament. “Let us enter the second round, then we will talk of reaching the finals and winning the Gulf Cup,” Macala said.
Meanwhile, the Iraq team blamed the loss on its bad luck and injury to few of their key players.
“Firstly it was bad luck. Secondly, a few of our players were injured while playing due to which we lost the match. They have all played in big tournaments so we can’t blame it on their inability to win matches,” Raheem Hamid, assistant coach of Iraq, said.
“We never expected to get red cards. It should not have happened. We will have a serious team meeting and will analyse our mistakes before our match against Oman,”
Many of the Iraqi players in the current line up are playing in Qatar-based clubs, but they put up a lacklustre performance against the Bahrainis. “They are all professionals and know how to play well. It was not our day, but we will come back strongly,” Raheem said.
Asked whether the referee Junaibi had been too harsh against Iraq and whether his side would be talking to the referee committee, Raheem said all options were open. “We have not thought about that yet. But certainly that option is on the card, and we may talk to the referee committee. It should not have come from him in such a harsh manner,” added a visibly upset Raheem.
In a tension-packed game, Iraq’s Haitham Kazi Tahir got the first red card in the 25th minute of the first half of play for knocking down Mohammed Hubail, reducing the Iraqi side to ten players. The Bahrain side took full advantage of the situation when Abdulla Omar scored the first goal in the 27th minute. Iraq’s goalkeeper, Ali Hussein Arahima, was the second player to receive the red card after he caught Bahrain’s Abdulla Omar by hand. Although Iraq sacrificed by replacing Ali Hussein with Mahdi Ageel as goalkeeper, the team was reduced to nine players. And to add to their woes, the team also conceded a penalty, scored by Said Adnan.
Bahrain also received two yellow cards (red) from match referee Mohammed Junaibi. Iraq’s only goal came in the form of a penalty from their star striker Yunis Kalaf. But as the match was extended to injury time, Bahrain’s Fawzi Aish struck the third goal.
A delighted Macala praised his team for the convincing victory, but pointed out a lot of mistakes that his side had committed. “I saw a lot of mistakes in both the defense and the offence. We shall rectify those mistakes in the next match,” said Macala at the post-match press conference yesterday.
Asked if Oman is his favourite hunting ground, Macala gave a diplomatic answer, admitting that his side was under some pressure before heading to Muscat. “It’s good to be back again, but this championship is difficult and like I mentioned earlier, we were under a lot of pressure due to various reasons,” said the former coach of Oman.
“We played to our potential. Ask the referee why he gave red cards to Iraq and not me. You can’t call it lucky, but of course we took full advantage of it and that’s how football has to be played,” the shrewd coach said on being asked if his side had been fortunate enough to win after the Iraqi side had been reduced to nine players.
Asked if the win had boosted the morale of his side to win the Gulf Cup for the first time, Macala said his side had some more troubles ahead and that it was still only the first round of the tournament. “Let us enter the second round, then we will talk of reaching the finals and winning the Gulf Cup,” Macala said.
Meanwhile, the Iraq team blamed the loss on its bad luck and injury to few of their key players.
“Firstly it was bad luck. Secondly, a few of our players were injured while playing due to which we lost the match. They have all played in big tournaments so we can’t blame it on their inability to win matches,” Raheem Hamid, assistant coach of Iraq, said.
“We never expected to get red cards. It should not have happened. We will have a serious team meeting and will analyse our mistakes before our match against Oman,”
Many of the Iraqi players in the current line up are playing in Qatar-based clubs, but they put up a lacklustre performance against the Bahrainis. “They are all professionals and know how to play well. It was not our day, but we will come back strongly,” Raheem said.
Asked whether the referee Junaibi had been too harsh against Iraq and whether his side would be talking to the referee committee, Raheem said all options were open. “We have not thought about that yet. But certainly that option is on the card, and we may talk to the referee committee. It should not have come from him in such a harsh manner,” added a visibly upset Raheem.
Gcc cup 2009 Opening game Oman Vs. Kuwait ended with a draw
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.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Celebrate our 3G anniversary with FREE Broadband Internet!
Celebrate our 3G anniversary with FREE Broadband Internet!
Get online without a landline and save up to RO 58 with Nawras Broadband Internet
Nawras, the only 3G+ service provider in Oman, offers you 2 months of free Broadband Internet subscription as part of our 1st anniversary celebrations.
Enjoy up to 20GB of Broadband Internet, giving you the possibility of downloading up to 3500 songs, surfing the internet for over 120 hours or receiving thousands of emails for two full months
Join the fastest growing family in Oman and get more value with our Broadband Internet offer.
Offer conditions:
Offer valid from 30 November 2008 until 30 January 2009 and applies only for new Silver or Gold customers who purchase a new modem or router. International Roaming usage excluded. Charges apply for usage above the Silver and Gold bundled data volumes.
This offer is really a big savings and good jump start to try the 3G service of nawras. So if you are planning to get an internet connection, this is one of your best option.
GCC Cup Welcome Pack Offer from nawras
Nawras brings for you an amazing Welcome Pack offer for this GCC Cup season (15th December 2008 to 15th January 2009). All new Nawras customers get 1 GB free data that can be used to access match scores, updates, schedules and other important news. You do not have to pay anything as long as your usage is below 1 GB.
Nawras Ajel Offer: Buy a welcome pack for RO 3 and receive 1 GB FREE data.
Nawras Mousbak Offer: Buy a welcome pack for RO 3 and receive RO 2 open talk time and 1 GB of FREE data.
Limitations: 1 GB FREE data is not applicable to Silver, Gold or Platinum Plan for Broadband Internet, Blackberry subscriptions and data roaming.
Exceptions: Shababiah customers will receive RO 1 FREE data in addition to 1 GB data from GCC Offer.
Hurry and grab this amazing offer fro nawras. This is a very good deal from a very provider.
HM Sultan Qaboos Bin Said condoles death of Umm Al Quwain ruler
MUSCAT — His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of condolences to His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, on the death of Sheikh Rashid bin Ahmed Al Mualla, member of the UAE Supreme Council and ruler of Umm Al Quwain. His Majesty the Sultan expressed his condolences to the president, his government and the people of the UAE.
Sheikh Rashid, who was in his seventies, died yesterday in a London hospital. The sheikh had headed Umm Al Quwain, one of seven members of the UAE, since 1981.
The UAE began a week of official mourning, during which flags will fly at half-mast. Government departments will remain closed for three days.
Sheikh Rashid, who was in his seventies, died yesterday in a London hospital. The sheikh had headed Umm Al Quwain, one of seven members of the UAE, since 1981.
The UAE began a week of official mourning, during which flags will fly at half-mast. Government departments will remain closed for three days.
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