Oman and Al-Shabab met in the third round of the Professional League on September 11th, with the visitors taking all three points with a 2:0 victory. C. Marko opened the scoring just two minutes in, and Al-Shabab added a second goal in the 56th minute to close out the match. The result moves Al-Shabab to 6 points from 3 games, while Oman remain on 6 points in fourth place after their third game.
By then, the home side had barely mustered any response to the early strike. Oman had won both previous matches comfortably, beating Al-Musannah 1:0 and Dhofar 2:0, but this game felt different from the start. And here's the thing — they never really got out of second gear after that opening goal.
We had called for the away side before kickoff, giving them 42 percent confidence. The prediction came through, though Al-Shabab's recent form suggested it wouldn't be straightforward. They had lost to An-Nahda 2:3 and drawn 1:1 with them on another occasion, plus a 3:2 win over Sur. To be fair, they found a way to control this one.
Oman's record before this match was impeccable — two wins from two, scoring five goals without conceding. Their last defeat came against Sur 2:3 in May, and they hadn't dropped points since. But this time the visitors took the game away from them, and the home fans were left watching from the stands rather than celebrating.
Al-Shabab now sit ninth on 3 points from 2 games, having started the season with a win and a loss. The gap between them and the top half remains significant, but this result shows they can take points away from strong opposition. Oman stay fourth, still unbeaten, but the narrow margin of their previous victories made this defeat feel more uncomfortable than the scoreline suggests.