(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) On a humid night at the British School Muscat (BSM) ground, Muscat Storm concluded its season with a hard-fought 3-1 win against a gritty HMS Monmouth outfit.
Although Storm had the last laugh, the visitors matched it well and it wasn't an easy win for the hosts. The game started off at an extremely quick pace, and both teams enjoyed plenty of ball possession.
Storm was playing with confidence, but the heat took its toll, and the game started to slow down. It was then that Storm became more dominant.
The first chance fell to Mark Lennon, who was set up by Oli Myhill, only to see his shot whistle past the post.
Moments later, some quick thinking from Nick Durnin found Lennon with some space, and his cross was met by Lee Ebbutt, who made no mistake as he headed the home team into a 1-0 lead.
HMS Monmouth went straight on the attack, but could find no way past a formidable Storm defence with Dave McCurrach and Scott Demelweek excelling at the back.
Storm nearly doubled its lead when Jamie Beddows slipped the ball through to K G Mangoegape, who skipped past his marker and fizzled a shot just over the bar.
Despite the searing heat, Storm worked hard to close down the space against a very fit Monmouth team. Raphael Adeyemi had to work hard to break down the play. In the 48th minute, he pinched the ball and found Myhill, whose first-time cross was cleverly finished by Johnny Murphy when his cheeky volley found the corner, making it 2-0.
Storm was in full control of the game by then and was playing its best football of the season. It could have extended its lead on a couple of occasions, but was just not able to put the finishing touches.
The visitors continued to chase the game and were nearly rewarded in the 76th minute during a scramble in the box, with Marco Bonato tipping the ball onto the post.
Lennon's hard work paid off as Storm played some smart touch football around the box, with Jay Wynter finally opening up the space for Lennon to finish a lovely move as Storm led 3-0.
With minutes to go, the visitors were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box. Aaron Davies superbly curled the ball into the top corner for the visitors' consolation goal.
Storm manager, Ebbutt, said after the game, 'We ended the season with probably our best performance as we played some great football and took control of the game with confidence very early on. It is the perfect end to a great season.'
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