Oman reach third final in a row

Muscat: Oman reached the final match of the 19th Gulf Cup after beating Qatar with a single goal in a water saturated field yesterday at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex here.

Oman will be playing in their third successive final of the regional tournament after losing the finals of the 17th and 18th to Qatar and the UAE respectively.

Both past two winners were the hosts of the Gulf Cup. Now it's time for Oman to use home advantage after avenging their final defeat of 2004 against Qatar in penalty shootouts.

The first few minutes of the match were played cautiously by both teams who showed great respect for each other. But the hosts initiated an attack and pressed for a goal. The pressure resulted in a throw in which was almost headed by Qatar defender Moussa Haroon into his own goal, but was brilliantly saved by Mohammad Saqr, the custodian who tipped it over the bar in the eighth minute.

Mohammad Al Shaiba, Oman's right fullback, sent a long high ball behind the defenders and while it was missed by Emad Al Hosani and Tilal Al Baloushi, Hassan Rabie, the tournament's top scorer, slot it home in a fierce shot that secured the final place for the hosts in the 18th minute.