Caitlin Dillon
Defending champions Oman were held to a 0-0 draw by Bahrain – a team they had never beaten in the Arabian Gulf Cup until 2007 – at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, on the second day of the competition.
Despite being a fairly fast-paced match, both sides struggled to get ahead, repeatedly cancelling one another out. At half time, the possession was an almost 50/50 split as the first 45 minutes had allowed for only a handful of chances between them.
Oman may have gone into their opening match of this year’s Gulf Cup as reigning champions, sitting almost 20 places clear of Bahrain in the FIFA rankings, but having only beaten their opponent three times in the competition’s history, the most statistically likely outcome was a draw.
Oman had never beaten Bahrain in the Gulf Cup until the 18th edition in 2007, at which point the tables turned - Bahrain have not managed a victory against Oman since.
It wasn’t until the 31st minute that the match’s first shot on target was taken, as Oman’s Al Mandhar Rabia Al Alawi shot directly at the opponent’s keeper, Sayed Hashem. Seven minutes later, Bahrain’s Mohamed Al Romaihi executed an almost identical shot.
In the first 15 minutes of the second half, Oman assumed full control of the game, with Bahrain struggling to break through the Omani defence.
The final 20 minutes of the match saw numerous chances for both sides, with the Omani goalkeeper having to work particularly hard at the hands of Al Romaihi, however as the final whistle blew, and each side accepted their one point, it seemed like the correct outcome.