(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat Storm kicked off its new season with a 2-1 win against its old rival Barka on Friday.
Storm manager Lee Ebbutt had been able to add new faces to his squad over the summer and some of them were actively involved in the win.
Barka has always proved to be a tough opponent and Storm took some time to settle as Barka initially held plenty of ball possession. The visitors were soon in their flow but a resolute defence of Storm provided no way through for Barka.
Storm absorbed a lot of pressure, but started to look dangerous on the counter-attack. Mark Lennon could have opened the scoring in the 17th minute when he broke free, but a nudge from a rival defender was enough to put him off.
Storm grew in confidence as the match progressed, and with Dave McCurrach and Jamie Beddows looking sold in defence, Barka had few clear chances.
The home side created the better chances and both Lennon and KG Mangoegape could have opened the scoring, but failed to find the final touch as the first half approached.
However, with seconds remaining, a drive from Basim al Lawati caught the hand of McCurrach, and the referee pointed to the spot. The penalty was calmly slotted away by Ali al Amri to give Barka the lead.
The second half saw Storm take control of the game. Rob Hughes' hard work paid off and in the 60th minute he chased a loose ball and managed to get a cross into the box.
A lurking Ebbutt anticipated it well and cleverly guided his header into the bottom corner to draw level.
Storm had to wait until the 87th minute to score the winner. As Oli Myhill released new Stormer, Omar al Haziazi, his pace saw him skip the challenge, and his driven pass across the six-yard box was scrambled in by Mangoegape, giving the home side the lead that it held on for a win.
A happy Ebbutt, said after the match, 'Barka is a great team, and always provides a good test for us. The boys exceeded my expectations for the first game. We have grown the squad, and introduced some more faces. I am very happy with the performance and the result."
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