(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Seven years after it had made a comeback to the Oman Football Association (OFA) top-flight league, nine-time domestic league champions Fanja, was relegated to the First Division on Sunday.
On the concluding day of the 2017-18 Omantel League season, when all the 14 teams were in action, Fanja was held to a 1-1 draw by Al Nahda at the Buraimi Sports Complex to manage only a 12th-place finish.
Al Mudhaibi, a club better known as the hometown of Oman's great Ali al Habsi, was also relegated after just one season in the top-tier despite winning 2-0 against Dhofar in their concluding game. The third team to go down was Al Salam.
Salam's 3-0 win over Mirbat was little consolation as it ended the Omantel League at the bottom with 30 points while Fanja and Mudhaibi had 31 each.
Suwaiq captain Faiz al Rusheidi (right) receives the trophy
Oman's big 5-1 win over Al Shabab paved its way for its survival as it edged Fanja on better goal-difference with both teams garnering 31 points.
Elsewhere, Al Suwaiq, which was crowned winner with four rounds to go, ended its season in style with a 1-0 win over Sohar at the Seeb Sports Stadium.
National team striker Khalid al Hajri scored the only goal of the match in the 51st minute to help the Batinah giant to finish the season with a total of 63 points, a whopping 21-point margin over second-placed Al Shabab.
H H Sayyid Fatik al Said, chairman of Suwaiq Club, along with his sons, H H Sayyid Fahr al Said and H H Sayyid Firas al Said, were present on the victorious night as the club claimed its fourth title in the last eight years.
H H Sayyid Taimur bin Asad bin Tariq al Said, assistant secretary general for communication at The Research Council, was the chief guest on the occasion, and gave away the shield in the presence of OFA chairman Sheikh Salim al Wahaibi.
Suwaiq's maiden title came in 2009-10 and it made it two in a row before claiming its third in 2012-13.
Suwaiq coach Hakeem Shaker of Iraq was instrumental in leading the club to title. He had taken over the club's reins only in March. Suwaiq's season saw it win 20 games, draw three and lose three games, the defeats coming against Al Nahda, Fanja and Mirbat.
Al Nahda's draw with Fanja meant that it finished third with 37 points while HM's Cup winner Al Nasr ended at fourth place with 35, just a point above Al Arouba (34).
Record ten-time winner Dhofar came sixth as it edged Saham, Sohar and Muscat on better goal-difference. All the four clubs had 33 points.
Fanja downfall
Two years after it had won the league title, Fanja, a club that has won nine domestic league titles and an equal number of HM's Cup crowns, slipped down with Sunday's draw confirming its relegation.
The club, which had won the hearts of people in eighties and nineties, still holds the record of the only Oman club to win the prestigious GCC Clubs Championship in 1989, was relegated for the first time in 1992.
It returned to the top-flight in 1997-98 before dropping down in 1999-2000.
It struggled in the second tier till 2011 when it made a strong comeback to the top-flight as it won the league title in the very year of its comeback in 2012.
Another title came in 2016 but the latest development is certainly a setback for the club, that has arguably the largest fan base in the sultanate. The club could record just eight wins this season and had seven draws and 11 defeats. It conceded 34 goals and scored 33 during the season.
Final day's results: Al Nasr 0 Saham 1, Muscat 2 Al Arouba 1, Al Suwaiq 1 Sohar 0, Al Nahda 1 Fanja 1, Al Shabab 1 Oman 5, Al Mudhaibi 2 Dhofar 0, Al Salam 3 Mirbat 0.
Final standings: Suwaiq (63 points), 2 Al Shabab (42), 3 Al Nahda (37), 4 Al Nasr (35), 5 Al Arouba (34), 6 Dhofar (33), 7 Saham (33), 8 Sohar (33), 9 Muscat (33), 10 Mirbat (32), 11 Oman (31), 12 Fanja (31), 13 Al Mudhaibi (31), 14 Al Salam (30).
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