Guam, Oman play to 0-0 draw in World Cup qualifier

The Matao played Oman to a draw yesterday at the GFA National Training Center in Harmon. Guam controlled the first half with more shots on goal but couldn't get as many touches in the second half as Oman was able to keep possession. Goalkeeper Dallas Jaye played big for The Matao coming up with numerous saves.

The long trip and short rest period showed late in the game as players from The Matao started to cramp up. Matao entered the game ranked 146 in the world with Oman at 100. With time winding down in the match The Matao got big play from players off the bench that stepped in and contributed to the team's draw. With the draw The Matao and Oman are tied with 7-points in their pool.

Gary White, Matao head coach, told KUAM Sports, "We have a quick turnaround, we play Turkmenistan away next. The goal is go to Qatar because it's right next to Turkmenistan in terms of the time zone and the environment. They have a world class training center there so we are looking to go to Qatar for a camp there on the 5th of October. The players will come back in and we will train and we will play a friendly game against a professional team in Qatar just to get our legs back. And then we will travel to Turkmenistan on the 11th and then we will play in a very hostile environment on the 13th.

"We will utilize this time the best we can but it is always difficult making sure that players are available at clubs and other schedules that they have but we have done good so far. Now it's just focusing on getting 3-points in Turkmenistan which is not going to be an easy game. Iran went there and tied 1-1 so they are going to have their backs up because we beat them here. So every game in this group is very difficult."