Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Sur: Mohammed Taqi’s last-minute strike earned Oman’s Al Orouba a 2-1 win over Al Wahda on Wednesday after the Syrian side thought they had done enough to secure a point thanks to a late Raja Rafe goal.
Abdulwasea Al Matari had given the Omanis the lead nine minutes into the second half but Rafe looked to have rescued a point for Al Wahda when he struck two minutes from time. But Taqi’s goal on the stroke of full-time won the tie for Al Orouba.
“It is a good victory for us because this is the opening match in the competition and it is positive to have a good start,” said Al Orouba coach Martin Koopman “The win will give us a big push for the next matches and hopefully we can keep winning.
“We created several scoring chances which could have given us a bigger win but it is normal to have mistakes in these matches. I will try our best to work with the players to fix these mistakes and hopefully we can continue our good performances.”
Al Wahda had shaded a goalless first half but nine minutes after the restart Al Orouba found themselves in front when Moussa Kone capitalised on an error by the Al Wahda defence, allowing him to send in a cross that Al Matari converted with a first-time finish.
Rafe headed home past goalkeeper Riyadh Sbeit in the 88th minute but second-half substitute Taqi had the final word when he latched on to Al Matari’s pass before scoring with the help of the left upright.
“It is a disappointing defeat for us because we played well tactically, but the players lost concentration when we created the chances,” said Al Wahda coach Raefat Mohammad. “We should have scored more goals but we failed to do so.
“We managed to score the equaliser towards the end of the match and we should have held on to that result. But we were not lucky as we were affected with the injury of our defender Abdulkader Deka and that gave the chance for our opponents to score the winner.”
Photo: Lagardère Sports