Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuwait City: Gulf Cup final hero Fayez Al Rashidi has credited his teammates’ mental toughness for Oman’s improbable title success.
The goalkeeper saved a last-minute penalty kick from the UAE’s Omar Abdulrahman with the score tied at 0-0 to take the final into extra time at the Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmed Stadium on Friday.
Al Rashidi repeated his heroics in the penalty shoot-out, stretching to parry the fifth UAE spot kick from the same player, before his teammate Mohsin Johar scored the decisive penalty for Oman to win their second Gulf Cup title after 2009.
“We were in control for long stretches of the match and continued to attack and try to score. UAE got their last-minute penalty from a counter attack, and for a second we thought we had lost,” said the 29-year-old.
“I was fortunate enough to save the penalty and from then on, we regrouped and were determined to win it.”
Discussing his decision to dive low to his right to save Abdulrahman’s first penalty, then dive in the opposite direction to save the second in the shoot-out, Al Rashidi put it down to studying the opponents.
“I studied the UAE players with the help of our coaching staff. I knew where he would shoot based on his posture and I managed to save on both occasions.”
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