Hosts Bahrain held by Oman in Group A opener

Bahrain coach Gabriel Calderon watches on as players contest the ball Bahrain and Oman kicked off the 21st Gulf Cup in Manama with a goalless draw in their Group A encounter on Saturday evening. Both teams were cautious to attack in their first match of the tournament, at the Bahrain National Stadium. In the end, the defences came out on top.
Bahrain coach Gabriel Calderon started the match with an attacking formation, looking to please the home crowd. In a 4-2-3-1 formation, he fielded Ismael Abdul Latif as lone striker, with support from Fawzi Aish, Sayed Zia and Hussain Salman.
Oman's French manager Paul Le Guen played a 4-4-1-1 formation with striker Imad Al Hosni leading the line and Yaacop Abdel Karim playing second striker.
The two teams began the match with caution, with players feeling nervous on their first outing in Bahrain. The game became crowded in the midfield and a scrapy affair with neither team able to dominate with a decent spell of possession.
 It took 22 minutes for Bahrain to carve out the first real chance of the match, when Mohamed Salmeen passed the ball for Fawzi Aish, but his shot went just to the right of goal.
Despite improved performances during the second half of the match, the defensive caution remained until the end, and the game ended goalless.