Host Oman and Kuwait shared the spoils in the opening match of the 19th Gulf Cup tournament in Muscat on Sunday. The other Group A match, however, saw a goal rush as Bahrain beat Iraq 3-1 at the same avenue of Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. The tournament witnessed a short opening ceremony that only included the participating nations touring the track with their national flags. The first real attempt of the match was created by Kuwait when in the 13th minute Ahmed Ajab found himself alone in front of Bolton Wanderers' goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi and sent the ball wide. Oman launched several attacks against Kuwait but lacked the fortune. The host created its first real threat in the 37th minute when Ahmed Al-Ajmi faced Kuwaiti keeper Nawaf Al-Khaldi but shot the ball wide. Kuwait returned to the field after the break all pumped up but again failed to find the net. In the 60th minute Mesaed Nada headed the ball into the net of Al-Hebsi but the Uzbek referee canceled the goal. The second match saw Bahrain make an ambitious start to the tournament as it beat nine-man Iraq 3-1. Abdullah Omar Ismail put Bahrain ahead in the 28th minute when he put Salman Issa's cross into the Iraqi goal. Bahrain continued to put pressure after the break that resulted in the sending off of two Iraqi players due to offensive tactics. Mohammed Sayed Adnan doubled the lead in the 69th minute when he converted a penalty. Iraqi striker Younis Mahmoud reduced the margin from the spot. Abdullah Al-Dakhil, however, put the result beyond any doubt when he scored for Bahrain in the 90th minute. On Monday, defending champion the UAE plays Yemen while Saudi Arabia meets Qatar. Al-Ahli goes top Al-Ahli went top in Group B after recording a 5-2 victory over Al-Hazm in their Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Cup in Jeddah, Sunday. Al-Ahli is now on top of its group with six points. Abdul Rahim Al-jizawi put Al-Ahli in front seven minutes into the match. Adel Maiza doubled the lead three minutes later when he headed a long cross into the right side of Al-Hazm's net. Karam Barnawi made it 3-0 in the 25th minute. The team again succeeded in the 58th minute when Mohammed Masad scored the fourth goal from the edge of the box. Al-Hazm then came to life and Majed Nasseb broke Al-Ahli's offside trap in the 71st minute to place the ball into the opponent team's net. Eight minutes later, Talal Awaji made it 4-2 from the spot but the late goal from Murad Mahdi ended Al
