MUSCAT — Two goals in the first half might have helped a full-strength Oman to defeat Singapore 2-0 in a warm-up match at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher yesterday, but the verdict was not enough to prove that the team is peaking.

For the new Urguayan coach Julio Cesar Ribas, the win might give him a slight confidence, but it is certain that he has a lot of work to do.

“It was a good warm-up for Oman and I am confident of building a good team,” said Ribas after the match. However, Ribas must have found out that all his star professional players were a bit rusty in their approach and might need a few more strong training sessions to get back into the rhythm.

Ribas actually played all the professionals in the match and the line-up was similar to that of Milan Macala’s famed combination in the previous two Gulf Cups.

The start was good with senior strikers Imad Al Hosni and experienced winger Hassan Mudhafar scoring the only goals of the match in the first half. Fouzi Basheer and Ahmed ‘Kanu’ Mubarak too appeared in good knick and the defence as usual was manned with elegance by skipper Mohammed Rabe’ea.

However, the diminutive Badr Al Maimani lacked the flourish he is known for and Ribas rightly replaced him with Hashim Saleh in the second half. But the latter too lacked the speed and grit.

The Singapore players too impressed on occasions, but they certainly were not the outfit which could have tested the Omani players.

Another sight to adore was the presence of experienced players like Hani Al Dhabit, Hamdi Hubais etc on the bench and a general opinion was that the Uruguayan coach Ribas has fallen back on the tried and tested players to boost Oman’s fortunes in the World Cup qualifiers and gradually built a strong team for next year’s Gulf Cup.

It was also good to see Badr Juma making a comeback after Calderon had tried out fresh legs for the crucial job of a goal keeper.

Badr Juma did show that he still has the sharp reflexes and certainly has it in him to be the second option after Ali Al Habsi, who was the only professional missing yesterday.

Ribas has 25 players in the camp now and it is brimming with experience, but it has to watched how good the individuals are as age is catching up. “We will continue to have closed camps with two sessions of workout every day and I believe that the performance in the next match against Kuwait will be even better.”

Ribas also has very little time in his hand as he needs to put a winning combination in the home World Cup qualifying match against Bahrain on February 6. “I am happy that our players were good in all departments and will improve,” the Urguayan added.

Going against the trend, yesterday’s friendly surprisingly attracted a good audience. May be the message of Ribas playing a full-strength team had spread rather quickly attracting a decent crowd.

Feeling good was also Oman skipper Mohammed Rabe’ea, who said: “It is good to see such a crowd. We need their support for moving into to gear.”

He further stated that it is good sign that all the best players have been called into the training camp.

“We need experienced players to form a good outfit and it is good to see players like Hani Al Dhabit and others returning. We played well yesterday, but this is the first time after a long gap we are together and I hope we will build-up well for the match against Bahrain.”

However, the skipper also agreed that the match on Wednesday against Kuwait will be good test. OFA chairman Sayyid Khalid Al Busaidi was also rejoicing the win yesterday as he revealed his jubilance with a big compliment (a hug) to coach Ribas.