Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Muscat: Khalid Al Hajri’s winner two minutes from time was enough to earn Oman top spot in Group D of qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 as Pim Verbeek’s Gulf Cup champions defeated Palestine 1-0 on Tuesday evening.
Al Hajri netted two minute from the end of a scrappy encounter between two teams who had already secured their tickets for next January’s Finals in the United Arab Emirates.
Palestine went into the game with a three-point advantage thanks to their victory on home soil earlier in qualifying and a draw would have been enough for them to hold on to pole position at the completion of the qualifying schedule.
But a tepid performance from both sides suggested a draw was the most likely outcome before Al Hajri’s late intervention.
Mohsin Al Khaldi saw his goal-bound attempt clawed to safety by Palestine goalkeeper 12 minutes from the end of a tight first half as neither side created much in front of goal.