Oman snatched a crucial point in their fifth clash against China at the AFC Asian Qualifiers Group B – Road to Qatar as both teams played out a 1-1 draw at the Sharjah Stadium on Thursday night.
Wu Lei put his team ahead as he netted the opening goal for the hosts in the 21st minute. Amjad al Harthi scored the equalizer late for Red Warriors in the 75th minute. The draw gave Oman a point and raised the tally to seven points in the fourth place while China reached four points at fifth position.
OMAN START WELL
Earlier in the first half, Oman made the first organised move of the match in the third minute when a long ball sent from Amjad al Harthi went to Essam al Subhi who tried through perfect header to put the ball to the Chinese goalmouth but it went beside the net.
The opponent China took the lead in the 21st minute after header from Zhu Chenjie went to Wu Lei who deftly found the target. Chinese pressed hard after the opening goal as Luo Guofu was close to scoring the second goal in the 24th minute. Oman’s Fayez al Rusheidi saved scoring attempt by Luo Guofu tried to send strong header.
Oman’s attackers were returned for seeking the equalizer in the last 15 minutes of the first half. Zher al Aghbari, Jameel al Yahmadi and Khalid al Hajri were very active in the front and disturbed the opponent’s defense line.
Jameel al Yahmadi was very close to score the equalizer in the dying minutes of the first half but his ball went beside the net. Referee Sivakorn Pu-udom from Thailand blowed his whistle to end first half as China led 1-0.
OMAN SHOW FIGHT
In the second half, Oman’s task to restore parity continued as the team pressed hard for an equalizer and Chinese players were looking to strengthen their lead.
In the 59th minute, A Lan entered the penalty box and sent a strong ball which was saved by Fayez Al al Rusheidi. The Croatian coach, Branko Ivankovic, made the first substitution as he replaced Zaher al Aghbari by Mohsin Jawher in the 64th minute.
The active man in the match, Wu Lei, missed a scoring goal as he sent strong header to Fayez but went outside the left corner. Mohsin bounced back quickly as he shot a corner that was recevied by Amjad al Harthi who continued the ball to the net through a perfect header to score the equalizer in the 75th minute.
Later, both teams secured their defensive line to avoid receiving any goals in the dying moments of the match. The fixture ended in a 1-1 draw. In the forthcoming round, Oman will take on Japan on Tuesday in Muscat while China will face Australia in Sharjah.
