Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Amman: Egyptian forward Mohamed Talaat scored six minutes from time to give That Ras their first ever win in the AFC Cup as the Jordan FA Cup holders edged Omani league champions Al Suwaiq 1-0 on Tuesday.
That Ras dominated the Group A match at the Amman International Stadium and they finally got a deserved winner when Talaat burst clear from his own half to coolly slot past goalkeeper Faiyz Al Rusheidi in the 84th minute.
It was the first goal for the Jordanian side in the competition and the win put them level on three points with Al Suwaiq and Lebanese side Safa at the top of the group.
“We went into the match with only one target which was to win the match,” said That Ras coach Ahmed Abdelqader. ”We studied our opponents and the players followed their instructions well although we had to wait until late in the match to score the winning goal.
“The win and the three points will open the way for us and the next match will be very important to strengthen our chances of qualifying from the group. Despite playing in the competition for the first time, our ambition is to win and qualify to the knockout stage.”
Having lost 1-0 to Lebanese side Safa in their opening game despite enjoying a man advantage for almost the entire game, That Ras were much the better side against Al Suwaiq but were continually let down by poor finishing.
Al Suwaiq defender Yousuf Abdallah nearly gifted the home side the opening goal after 25 minutes when he deflected a corner just over his own crossbar and Fadi Shahin should have done better shortly after when he met an inviting cross from the left with a volley that flew narrowly wide.
Just before half-time, Baha Abdelrahman received the ball in space on the right of the box but he was let down by a poor first touch as the ball squirmed away from him and went out for a goal kick.
That Ras continued to exert much of the pressure in the second half and Al Rusheidi had to be alert just after the hour to tip the ball away when Abdelrahman went straight for goal with a free-kick from the left flank.
The home side had a big appeal for a penalty when Sharif Nawaysheh’s attempt struck the hand of Belal Abdul Daim and went wide but the referee was unmoved.
But the deadlock was finally broken in the 84th minute when Talaat raced on to a through ball from the halfway line and outpaced Abdel Daim before sending a low shot across Al Rusheidi into the bottom right corner of the net.
It was a disappointing finish for Al Suwaiq coach Musabah Al Saadi.
“The match was very hard as we expected but things got worse with the weather as our players found it hard to adapt to the difficult conditions and this affected us throughout the match tonight,” he said
“Our players made several defensive mistakes and these mistakes cost us a late goal. We must forget this defeat and think of the future as we must concentrate on the next match in order to make a good comeback and maintain our chance of qualifying.”