Asian Cup Q: Oman back in contention

OMAN thrust themselves firmly back into the qualification picture for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup as Ismail Sulaiman’s second-half goal sealed a 2-1 triumph over Indonesia at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

Fouzi Basheer (pic) had given the visitors the lead after 31 minutes only for Boas Salossa to cancel out the effort in first-half stoppage-time.

However, Sulaiman struck in the 52nd minute to leave Oman just one point behind Kuwait and Australia in Group B after the pair shared a 2-2 draw at Kuwait Sports Club Stadium. For Indonesia, however, the defeat condemned them to the foot of the table.

Oman enjoyed much the better of the first-half but had to wait until just after the half-hour mark to engineer a breakthrough.

Ahmed Hadid delivered a free-kick that Fouzi Basheer managed to head beyond Indonesia keeper Markus Horison.

However, Salossa managed to equalise on the stroke of half-time when the striker latched onto a long ball over the top, held off two defenders and beat Ali Al Habsi with a neat finish.

But Sulaiman blasted home what proved to be the winning goal seven minutes into the second period to seal the points for Oman. They now host Kuwait on March 3 at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex knowing victory will send them to next year’s AFC Asian Cup.

Tags: Asian Cup, Asian Football, Fouzi Basheer, Indonesia, Oman