Muscat Storm routes Royal Guard of Oman team

5/4/2016 12:35:46 PM

(MENAFN- Muscat Daily)

A young Royal Guard of Oman (RGO) team recently took on Muscat Storm at the latter's home ground at British School Muscat but succumbed to a 0-4 defeat.

Storm manager Lee Ebbutt was forced into making some changes to the starting line-up due to the unavailability of key players and thus had an unfamiliar back three starting the game.

The home team was expecting a tough game following their last match against the visitors and although there was the unfamiliar line up the style of play and discipline was very familiar. The game started sheepishly for the RGO as it failed to compete with a lively Storm.

Storm was rewarded after about ten minutes of dominance when eventual Man-of-the-Match Oli Myhill scored from a sweeping move. The scoreline soon turned from 1-0 to 2-0 in Storm's favour when Kirk McPherson went one-on-one with his marker and beat the goalkeeper with sheer skill and pace.

As the first half progressed RGO players grew in confidence and kept the ball for long periods of play and Storm struggled to win the ball back and more importantly to keep it.

However the home side maintained its shape well and only allowed the rival players to shoot from a distance most of which posed very few problems for the home team keeper Marco Bonato although a couple of close-range efforts were palmed away by the goalie.

After the break Storm defended well as the visitors pushed to find an opening goal.

Sean Henesey and Adrian Brindley worked tirelessly as Storm weathered wave after wave of attack from the opponents. When the RGO players pressed they left gaps in their defence and Myhill put a through into the box from a Jay Wynter pass that led to a penalty.

Malchus Hilton took the penalty and placed the ball on the bottom left corner to make it 3-0.

It was Hilton again who took the ball on a dribble and into the box only to be fouled by the centreback for Storm's second penalty of the night. McPherson took it and converted for a 4-0 victory.

Ebbutt said after the game 'I was forced to make some changes tonight and ply people out of position but they all stepped up. The result doesn't really reflect how close the game was and how hard we had to work. It was another great performance.'

'Royal Guard of Oman may feel slightly deflated by the scoreline and with so much possession for long spells of the match it players may feel they should have got more out of it' he said. Storm next faces Barka at the same venue tonight.

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