Sabahi happy as Oman gets off to a winning start
Oman U16 football coach Yaqoub al Sabahi expressed his delight after his boys got off to a winning start at the AFC U16 Championship Malaysia 2018 at the MBPJ Stadium in Selangor, on Friday.
Oman dominated against Yemen and though Sabahi's boys won 2-0, the margin could have been much bigger.
Following the win in the opening game of the group, which also comprises Jordan and North Korea, Sabahi said, “It’s important to start well, and that’s what happened in this game. (Before the game) we gave the boys' the confidence, and told them what our strengths was.
“Sure, we didn’t have much information about Yemen, but our players fought for 90 minutes. We had many big chances to score, but we need to continue to work on these things.”
The star of Oman's win was Qusai al Jaradi, who slammed in both the goals in the first half. In the opening minutes of the match, both sides were eager to find the back of the net.
In the 14th minute, Oman’s Al Azhar al Balushi lobbed the ball over the Yemeni defence to find an unmarked Qusai, who calmly slid the ball past goalkeeper Abdullah Abdulhakim al Sadi, for the lead.
The goal served as a confi- dence booster for Sabahi’s boys as they moved with a spring in their step and continuously threatened with their attacks from the flank.
In the 35th minute, Yemen’s defence cracked under the Omani pressure and Fahad al Rasbi sent a pinpoint cross into the box that saw Qusai secure his second goal of the night with a fine header.
In the other group match on Friday, Jordan drew with North Korea 2-2.
Oman, which has won the title twice in 1996 and 2002, now tops the Group B standings with three points and Sabahi hopes his boys would continue with the good show against Jordan on Monday.
The Oman coach said, “We have a lot of information on Jordan, and I think they are the best in group. But for now, we will give our boys time to be happy with this win, and then prepare for the next match tomorrow.”
A win against Jordan will seal Oman's spot in the knockout stage, which begins with the last-eight matches from September 30.