Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Muscat: Oman secured top spot in Group A of the AFC Asian Cup 2015 qualifiers as they strolled to a 3-1 win over Singapore at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on Wednesday.
Amad Al Hosni opened the scoring after 19 minutes and Qasim Said and Sami Al Hasani added goals in the second half as Oman dominated their Southeast Asian visitors and maintained their unbeaten record in the group.
Singapore captain Shahril Ishak became the only player to breach the Omani defence during the qualifiers but his late goal was merely a consolation for his team, who finished bottom of the group with only three points.
“I’m satisfied with the performance and the result of the match,” said Oman coach Paul Le Guen. “We had many scoring chances throughout the match but we failed to score more than three goals. However, I’m still happy with the performance and the good result that we had tonight.
“We lost some concentration in the second period and this gave our opponents the chance to score a goal. In general, the performance was good and we will try our best to fix the mistakes that we had in the future.”
The Omanis had already booked their spot in Australia with a 1-0 win over Syria last November but they showed no intent of taking their foot of the pedal for their final match of the qualifiers.
They controlled proceedings from the opening whistle and took a deserved lead in the 19th minute after Amad Al Hosni had capitalised on a weak clearance by defender Safuwan Baharudin. Al Hosni’s initial shot was blocked by goalkeeper Hassan Sunny but the Omani forward picked up the loose ball and powered a right-footed shot into the back of the net.
Al Hosni was a lively figure for the home side but he squandered a couple of chances to add to their lead before half-time. In the 36th minute, he saw his initial shot blocked on the line by Afiq Yunos before following up with an acrobatic bicycle kick that clattered against the crossbar.
And just before half-time, he was found completely unmarked in the six-yard box by Ali Al Busaidi but fired his shot straight at the legs of Sunny.
The hosts continued to dominate after the interval and they added to their lead in the 51s minute when Said received the ball from Raed Saleh and went past two defenders before hitting a scuffed shot that took a deflection off Afiq which wrong-footed Sunny.
Said then turned provider for Oman’s third goal in the 69th minute, cutting back the ball from the left for Al Hasani to tap home easily from close range.
Oman were in complete control but they let their guard down with 12 minutes to go and conceded for the first time in their campaign. Zulfahmi Arifin spotted the run of Shahril and launched a long ball towards his skipper, who outpaced Saad Al Mukhaini before firing the ball between the legs of the advancing Ali Al Habsi.
Despite seeing his side finish their qualifying campaign with five defeats in six games, Singapore coach Bernd Stange still felt that the experience had been a positive one for his players.
“The main reason for the defeat tonight was our lack of experience while the players became tired as the match progressed,” said the German. “I’m not disappointed because the players showed what they have got but the experience of Oman gave them the upper hand.
“We made some mistakes in defence and Oman took advantage of these mistakes to score. We were hoping to get a positive result but I’m happy with the performance of the players as we have a good squad with a mixture of experience and new faces.”