Oman suffer first defeat at GCC Under-23 tourney

Muscat: After two successive and well-deserved victories, Oman suffered their first loss in the ongoing GCC Olympic (Under-23) Football Championship in the Qatari capital of Doha on Monday.
According to information received here, Hamad Al Azzani-coached Omanis came up against a strong Saud Arabia side who handed the Sultanate squad a 3-0 defeat for their second victory in the five-team competition.
Oman were on a high after making a rousing start to their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Bahrain last Wednesday and their morale was further boosted by a 1-0 win over Qatar on Friday.
On Monday, however, the Omanis found it difficult to control the proceedings against Saudi Arabia and conceded an early goal.
The Saudis aggression coupled with Oman’s own mistakes made it difficult for the Sultanate to find the equalier and the score remained 1-0 in favour of Saudi Arabia at the break.
The Saudis, who got the better of the UAE in a 1-0 win in their first match, scored two more goals in the second session to put the match beyond Oman’s reach.
Oman, with six points from three outings, have now slipped to second place in the table while Saudi Arabia, also on six points but from two games, occupy the top place thanks to their better goal average.
Oman now need to win their final match against the UAE on Wednesday and hope for a slip up by Saudi Arabia to keep their hopes of winning the title.
Saudi Arabia play their remaining matches against Bahrain on Wednesday and Qatar on Friday.