Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Hebron: Al Dharia picked up the first win of their 2016 AFC Cup Group C campaign as goals from Abd Morjan and Mohammed Fouda saw the Palestinian side defeat Oman’s Al Oruba 2-0 on Wednesday.
Victory moved Abdulfattah Arar’s team up to four points from their first three games and keeps the club’s hopes of advancing to the Round of 16 alive as they drew level on points with Al Oruba, who have played one game more.
“The win today was down to the fighting spirit the players showed tonight,” said Arar. “We concentrated on our plan in building our attacks from the right and these tactics paid off as we scored two goals and got an important win.”
“We didn’t have good results in the previous period due to the absence of psychological solidity while we also missed some key players. I want to thank our fans who supported us in great numbers tonight and they played an important role in our win.”
Al Dharia took the lead with just four minutes on the clock when Morjan, a late inclusion in the starting line-up after recovering from injury, scored with a fine long-range effort that beat goalkeeper Riyadh Sabeit to his left.
Al Oruba cranked up the pressure as the half wore on, but the Omanis were unable to find a way past the home defence in the opening 45 minutes.
It was a similar story in the early stages of the second half as Al Oruba continued their search for an equaliser, but the more they sought an opening the more vulnerable they left themselves to the counterattack.
The sucker punch came in the 66th minute when Al Dharia pushed down the left before Fouda volleyed home an effort that gave Sabeit little chance, allowing Al Dharia to take all three points.
“Our opponents deserved this win because they were better offensively and defensively,” said Al Oruba coach Martin Koopman. “We lacked concentration today and our players didn’t give a good performance which affected us tonight.
“The players lost their concentration and couldn’t focus on the match, especially after the early goal. We shall learn lessons from this defeat and we will try to concentrate on our local league especially because we have a chance to compete for the title.”
Photo: Lagardère Sports