Football: Oman rally to hold Bahrain in CISM World Cup

Muscat: A stunning long-range effort by Jamil Al Yahmadi helped Oman rally back to hold Bahrain to a 1-1 draw in a crucial match of the second CISM World Cup Football Championship at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on Wednesday.
Just after the half hour mark, the hosts and their vociferous supporters were silenced by an expertly taken free-kick by Bahrain’s Ismail Abdullatif.
Taking the free-kick from top the box, Ismail Abdullatif curled the ball into the top left corner of the goal while unsighted Oman goalkeeper Fayeez Rashid was clueless.
Stung by the reverse and egged on by the home supporters, Oman team tried to fight their way back into the match.
Though they failed to make an impact for the rest of the first session, Mohanna Said-coached Oman team came into their own after the resumption and launched a series of attacks to unsettle the Bahraini defenders.
With the experienced internationals Abdulaziz Al Maqbali, Saad Suhail, Mohammed Al Balushi as well as Mohammed Al Musallami and Mohammed Al Mashari combining well and showing urgency, Oman gave Bahrain no breathing space.
After a series of missed opportunities, Oman found the equaliser in the 55th minute when Jameel Alo Yahmadi came up with a powerful long ranger to beat Bahrain custodian Al Sayed Mohammed Gafar.
But for the rest of the match, neither team succeeded finding the opening to score the all important goal.
Oman, who began their campaign with a 5-0 drubbing of Guinea in the inaugural match of the 16-team world military tournament on Sunday, are now on top of four-team Group A with four points from two outings.
Bahrain who also have four points from two matches are in the second place due to their inferior goal average.
France and Guinea, who played out a 2-2 draw earlier in the evening at the same venue for their first points, are in the third and fourth places respectively.
Oman now need just a draw in their next group match against France on Friday when Bahrain takes on Guinea.
In two Group B matches played on Wednesday at ROP stadium in Wattayah, Germany defeated North Korea by a 1-0 margin while Algeria scored 3-1 win over Iran.
Algeria are leading their group wih six points from two matches followed by North Korea and Germany with three points each. Iran are yet to open their account.
In Thursday’s matches, Qatar play Ireland and Mali face U.S. in Group C while Canada take on Egypt and Poland meet Syria in Group D.
The championship concludes on January 28.