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Saham hold Al Dhafra to a 1-1 draw

 

Al Dhafra Football Team returned back home last night with a lone point following their 1-1 draw against Saham of Sultanate of Oman in their last match of Group "B" played on Thursday May 5. The visitors have already qualified for the quarterfinals of the GCC Clubs Championship before playing this game after beating second-placed Al Arabi of Qatar 5-0 in their third encounter played recently at Hamdan Bin Zayed Stadium in the Western Region. But they faced Saham with the hope of snatching more three points to raise their tally to 9, a balance which would help them to top the group and play their quarterfinal-knock out game at home according to the championship regulations.

With this draw, Al Dhafra have finished their matches collecting seven points that put them on top of the group, while Saham are classified at the bottom of the group with only two points to remain out of contention..

The two teams ended the first session with a goalless draw after squandering all the chances that came their way. But the hosts took the lead only six minutes after the break through Mohammad Saleh Al Ghaissani. The visitors fought hard afterwards looking for the equalizer but all their efforts were in vain. They did not lose hope and they had to wait till the last minute when Mohammad Salim collected the ball and drove it into the net to secure a valuable point for his side.

Al Dhafra have to wait till the end of Saham and Al Arabi of Qatar match due to kick off on May 9 in Doha. The Qatari squad have now six points that helped them to accompany Al Dhafra to the next stage. But a win over Saham will see them on top of Group "B" with 9 points and forces Al Dhafra to slip to the second position. If this happens, Al Arabi of Qatar will face Al Arabi of Kuwait who came second in Group "D" in the quarterfinals stage while UAE Al Dhafra are to battle it out against Dubai- based Al Ahli leaders of their Group "D".