Sports Reporter/Riyadh

Qatar raised their game a few notches just when it mattered to storm into the final of the Gulf Cup with a convincing 3-1 victory over Oman at the King Fahd International stadium yesterday.
They will take on Saudi Arabia in the final on Wednesday after the hosts edged out the UAE 3-2 in the second semi-final.
Having made the business end of the tournament on the back of three patchy draws in the group phase during which they clearly looked out of place, Qatar needed to summon as much positive intent as possible against Oman who had been shaping up well in their quest for their second Gulf Cup title.
And yesterday, the Al Annabi did it in style, first a Hassan al-Haydos penalty cancelling out Oman’s lead in the 36th minute, and then Ali Asadalla providing them a comfortable cushion with two fine strikes in a span of 10 minutes in the second half.
Qatar’s inability to find the net during the group phase – they scored only once in three matches – had been a major worry for coach Djamel Belmadi and the team management. But based on yesterday’s evidence they appear to have buried their goal jinx and looking ahead to their final against … on Wednesday.
“It was only a matter of time we hit form,” Belmadi said during the post-match press conference. “We were unlucky not to score many goals earlier in the tournament, but we knew it would surely come,” the Algerian added.
However, it was now plain sailing for Qatar, especially during the first half as Oman, who had thrashed ten-time champions Kuwait 5-0 to top Group B, dominated the early exchanges and looked threatening.
They finally found the mark in the in the 24th minute through Raed Ibrahim Saleh, who volleyed home powerfully from close after the ball fell in his path off the head of Qatar’s Meshaal Abdulla following a free kick.
Qatar fell under pressure and would have suffered a morale-shattering blow just six minutes later had Ali al-Busaidi taken full advantage of a serious lapse in defence. But with the Qatar goalkeeper Qassim Burhan at his complete mercy having advanced forward, all al-Busaidi could do was lob the ball over the post, much to his team’s shock.
With relief written large over their faces, Qatar stepped up their attacks and soon were rewarded in the form of a penalty when Meshaal’s goalward thrust was hacked down by Oman goalkeeper Ali al-Habshi in the 36th minute.
Al-Habshi received a yellow card for his tackle, the double whammy coming a few seconds later when al-Haydos sent him the wrong way from the spot.
Qatar came back with renewed determination in the second half and took charge of the proceedings. With better coordination and some crisp passing they pressured the Omani defence into making mistakes, with the result that a goal looked inevitable
And sure enough, it came in the 59th minute. Meshaal had a great chance to score from close, but the ball hit the upright and Asadalla, who was lurking inside the box, slammed home the rebound.
Eight minutes later, Asadalla scored in similar fashion. Meshaal once again missed an opportunity to register himself on the score sheet by crashing the ball into the woodwork, and Asadalla took full advantage of the situation by lobbing the rebound over goalkeeper al-Habshi who had advanced a few yards.
“We made some silly errors in the defence and paid the penalty,” Oman coach Paul Le Guen said.
“After taking the lead we should have never allowed the opposition to get back into the game, but we conceded a penalty and that gave Qatar the opportunity they were looking for.”



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