(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Oman qualified for the 2014 AFC U16 Championship after edging out Qatar 4-3 in a thrilling concluding Group F qualifier at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Sunday.
A hat-trick from Yazeed al Siyabi and a goal from Salah al Yahyai sealed the win for Oman, but not before a few tense moments in the closing minutes when Qatar scored two goals in two minutes.
With the win, Oman finished on top with four points to directly qualify for the 2014 event, which will be held in Thailand. Qatar finished runner-up with three points.
The top finisher from each of the ten groups qualify for the main event, along with the five top runners-up from the Bishkek event.
In the match, Oman's forward Siyabi opened the scoring in the 33rd minute. The contest went into the break with Oman 1-0 up.
As many as six goals then came in the final 40 minutes of play, starting with Mohammed Sheban 55th-minute equaliser for Qatar. Just as it seemed the match was headed for a 1-1 draw, Siyabi scored his second goal in the 79th minute to put Oman ahead.
Three minutes later, Yahyai scored Oman's third goal and then in the 86th minute, Siyabi completed his hat-trick to make it 4-1 for the sultanate team.
In the six minutes of stoppage-time, Qatar swung back into the match with a couple of telling strikes after Oman's Mohammed al Obaidani was sent off in the 93rd minute following his second booking of the day.
The Qataris struck through substitute midfielder Eisa al Ghaderi in the 94th minute and in the next minute, defender Khalid al Naimi scored to reduce the margin to just one goal with a minute's play still remaining.
Sayyid Khalid al Busaidy, the Oman Football Association's (OFA) chairman, congratulated the team after the win and said, ''The boys did a fantastic job. We will do our best to prepare them for the 2014 event in Thailand.''
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