Al Ansar 0-0 Fanja

Neither side were able to fashion a breakthrough in a tight contest as Al Ansar were unable to gain revenge for the 4-0 defeat by Fanja in Oman at the start of the campaign.
And with the second placed pair moving onto seven points with just one remaining next week, Fanja only have to match Al Ansar’s result against Group B winners Arbil in Iraq when they entertain Yemen’s Ahli Taiz to progress due to a superior head-to-head record.

“The match was not easy as Al Ansar are a big team and they are also a strong team who were good opponents,” said Fanja coach Hicham Al Jadran.

“The result in the previous meeting doesn’t mean that Al Ansar are a weak side and there were certain circumstances that led to this result.
“We struggled tonight to break down Al Ansar’s defence who knew how to close the gaps and didn’t give us any chances.
“We also had a good performance and we didn’t give away any chances and didn’t make any mistakes.”
With Al Ansar looking to gain revenge from March’s defeat in Muscat, the home side enjoyed a positive start but were able to find a breakthrough from several opportunities.
Fanja gradually improved as the half progressed, but like Al Ansar, the visitors failed to find a way past goalkeeper Lary Mehanna.
The second half started in the same way as the first 45 minutes as Al Ansar made a positive start before Fanja began to assert their dominance on the contest.
But despite their continued dominance, Al Ansar goalkeeper Mehanna remained largely untested as the pair were forced to settle for a share of the spoils.

“We said previously that the match will be very hard for the two teams and our players had a good performance even though we failed to create scoring chances while also having a good defensive performance,” said Al Ansar coach Malek Hassoun.
“Despite the result, we will give our best in the next match and hopefully we can have a good performance and give our best in order to win the match and get the three important points.”