Oman Holds South Korea to 1-1 Draw in AFC Asian Qualifiers Clash

MUSCAT: A determined Oman came back from a goal down to secure a late 1-1 draw with hosts South Korea in their AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to 26 Group B tie at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, South Korea, on Thursday.

Ali Al Busaidi’s 80th minute strike cancelled out Hwang Hee Chan’s first-half goal with the result leaving South Korea slumping to the ground as Oman celebrated a well deserved point.

Oman, under coach Rashid Jaber, now have seven points from seven games while South Korea lead the group with 15 points from same number of games played.

The Red Warriors are now fourth in the six-team group. The top two are guaranteed to qualify, with teams finishing third and fourth going into a further qualifying round.

South Korea started cautiously and were content to move the ball around, with Hwang’s spirited run towards goal in the 16th minute blocked by defender Khalid Al Braiki outside the box.

Both sides had no shots at goal in the first 30 minutes, with the Koreans seeing their build-ups snuffed out by the Omani defence before the 18-yard box.

South Korea, however, deservedly took the lead in the 41st minute when Lee Kang-in, who had come on three minutes earlier, sent a beautiful pass to Hwang, who controlled the ball with his first touch and coolly drilled it into the bottom right corner past a helpless Ibrahim Mukhaini.

They had a chance to double their advantage when they were awarded a free-kick right outside the box five minutes into time added on at the end of the first half, but captain Son Heung-min sent his shot straight into Ibrahim’s arms.

South Korea upped the tempo after the break, with Ibrahim pulling off a save from Oh Se-hun’s downward header from the edge of the six-yard box in the 49th minute. They continued to press their opponents, with midfielder Lee and Tottenham Hotspur forward Son playing key roles in setting-up Lee Tae-seok and Oh’s attempts in the 72nd and 73rd minutes.

At the other end, Oman’s run at their opponents’ goals lacked the finishing touch until the 80th minute, when Mohsin Al Ghassani’s one-two with Al Busaidi saw the latter send a stinging shot from the edge of the box past a rooted Jo Hyeon-woo to level the score.

South Korea will face Jordan on Tuesday while Oman take on hosts Kuwait on March 25.