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| AFC Cup |
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| A historic day, beams Al Azzani |
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| AFC Cup 2008 |
NIZWA - Al Nahda coach Hamad Al Azzani hailed his side’s 2-0 AFC Cup Group C victory over Shaab Hadramaout as a historic result for Omani football.
The Oman League champions qualified for the knockout stage of the competition after goals from Mansoor Al Naaimi and Mohamed Al Mashaikhi gave Al Nahda their second win in the competition.
The victory, coupled with Al Najma’s 3-2 defeat to defending AFC Cup champions Shabab Al Ordun, saw Al Nahda go top of the group with nine points prompting Al Azzani to comment on the significance of the achievement for football in the Gulf Sultanate.
“I would like to congratulate all Oman fans for our achievement tonight,” he said.
”This is a historic day for Omani football and we looked to qualify right from the start of the competition but it is still too early to talk about the knockout stage.”
Shaab Hadramaout coach Khaled Al Breik declared his side’s AFC Cup campaign as a success even though the defeat ended their hopes of a place in the quarter-finals.
"Our campaign was successful because it is the first time that we have had a chance of qualifying until the last match of the group and the competition gave or players a lot of experience,” he said.
"We played with a defensive formation in the first half because we know how good Al Nahda are. We tried to keep the score level in the first half but the two Al Nahda goals made things difficult for us.
"We tried to get back into the game in the second half but we were not successful. The changes that we made were good but the players didn't take advantage of the chances that they had."
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