(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) A couple of glaring defensive lapses were enough for hosts Palestine to exploit to the maximum as they recorded a 2-1 victory over Oman in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup Group D qualifier at the Faisal al Hussaini Stadium in Ramallah, West Bank on Tuesday night.
Pim Verbeek's Red Warriors appeared to be unsettled by the artificial pitch on which the game was played despite having gone through a ten-day preparatory camp on a similar surface in Jordan.
The hosts were quickly into the stride and struck the opening goal in the 14th minute. An unmarked Jonathan Zorrilla headed beyond Oman captain Ali al Habsi after connecting with a cross from the left by Shadi Shaban.
Seven minutes later, it was 2-0 to Palestine as Oman's back line failed to clear the ball and Yaser Islame latched onto the opportunity.
He executed an unstoppable effort that went in after nudging the underside of the crossbar.
Oman's Khalid al Hajri (left) vies for the ball with Palestine's Jonathan Zorrilla
Oman defender Abdulsalam Amour struggled to properly snuff out an attack down the left flank that was initially parried away by Habsi. Following a poor clearance, the ball fell at the feet of Islame, who made the most of it. On the stroke of half-time, the Omanis halved the deficit when Abdulaziz al Miqbali, who scored six times in a recent win over Bhutan, was upended just outside the area and Ahmed Mubarak 'Kanu' stepped up to score, beating Rami Hamada with a curling kick.
Tuesday's game was Habsi's 120th international cap, but it was an unforgettable outing for the two-time English
Championship side Reading Player of the Season as he could do little to stop Palestine from scoring twice.
Verbeek's men found the Palestinians to be an entirely different proposition compared to Bhutan as Abdalnasser Barakat's side, playing in front of 12,000 spectators, proved to be a notch above the Omani players.
In the second half, Oman, boosted by Kanu's goal, dominated the match, but failed to find a way past Hamada and the Palestinians held on to take all three points. With two wins so far, Palestine is on top of the group with six points.
Oman is second with three points and Maldives, which beat Bhutan 2-0 earlier on Tuesday, also has three points.
Palestine had beaten Maldives 3-0 in its opening qualifier, while Oman had trounced Bhutan 14-0 at home.
Tuesday night's match was also Verbeek's first official game at the helm as the Dutchman had missed the Bhutan game due to a family tragedy. The former Australia and South Korea national coach had arrived in January to take up his assignment
Other results: Group A: Macau 0 Myanmar 4, India 1 Kyrgyzstan 0; Group B: Hong Kong 1 North Korea 1, Malaysia 1 Lebanon 2; Group C: Cambodia 1 Afghanistan 0, Vietnam 0 Jordan 0; Group E: Turkmenistan 1 Bahrain 2; Group F: Nepal 0 Yemen 0, Tajikistan 3 Philippines 4. Saturday: Group E: Singapore 1 Chinese Taipei 2.
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