MUSCAT: Football fans are in for a treat when Al Seeb Club hosts Riffa SC of Bahrain in the final of AFC Cup West Zone at the Seeb Sports Stadium here on Tuesday evening.

The winner will also qualify for the AFC Cup Final to be played next year and their opponents will be known when Kuala Lumpur City of Malaysia and Sogdiana of Uzbekistan face in the East Asian Zone final in Tashkent tomorrow.

In their path to the final, Al Seeb beat Jableh SC of Syria (1-0), lost to three time champs Kuwait SC (1-2), Al Ansar of Lebanon (4-0) and defeated Arabi SC, Kuwait (2- 1) to top the group with six points.

On their trip to Seeb, Riffa Club scored wins over Dhofar SC (3-2) and Shabab Al Khalik (3-1) but lost opener to Al Arabia (2-3).

Both the rivals have a common ambition of entering record books and make history.

Al Seeb captain Eid Al Farsi exuded confidence but felt that their Bahraini rivals will not be an easy opponent. “In football we always enter the field thinking only about our strengths and play in our own style for a victory,” he said.

However, his coach Rashid Jaber felt every final is a tough outing “but our added impetus is to reach the goal of qualifying for the AFC Cup final with a win here on the morrow. That will be a historic moment. But we face a strong team who has a legacy too. As a team they have been together for a long time”.

Ever since Jaber took over as coach he imparted a new style which was well adapted by the players and loved by the fans.

This is Bahrain outfit’s second AFC Cup zonal final appearance after they lost to Kuwaiti SC by a solitary goal in 2010.

Riffa reached here after defeating their compatriot East Riffa in a penalty shootout and coach Ali Ashour who is managing the team for third successive season knows how to bring the best out of his set players including Ali Haram who played as a pro for Kuwait clubs.

Ali Ashour said: “This is not our home ground and fans will be rooting for our rivals naturally but my goal is to snatch the ticket for the AFC Cup final.”

SQUADS

Al Seeb: Ahmed Al-Rawahi, Muhammad Al-Muslimi, Juma Al-Habsi, Muhammad Ramadan, Ali Al-Busaidi, Hussein Al-Zadjali, Eid Al-Farsi, Gibula, Salah Al-Yahyai, Mohsen Al-Ghasani, Abdulaziz Al-Maqbali, Marwan Taib, Kasmus Daouda, Ahmed Al-Siyabi, Muhammad Al-Habsi, Youssef Al-Maliki, Tamim Al-Balushi, Ahmed Al-Riyami and Abdullah Al-Shabibi, Yahya Al-Hudaifi, Omar Al-Balushi, Turki Al-Hadidi, Muhammad Al-Zadjali, Jawad Al-Ezzi, Abdullah Al-Habsi, Muhammad Al-Hatmi, Hareb Al-Adawi, Issam Al-Makhzoumi and Irfan Al-Salmi.

Riffa SC: Ali Abdullah Marhoon, Kamil Al-Aswad, Jassim Al-Sheikh, Hassan Haram, Muhammad Shamsan, Sayed Mahdi Baqer, Saud Al-Asam, Abbas Al-Asfour, Sayed Hashem Issa, Muayad Al-Ajjan, Omar Al-Maliki, Muhammad Al-Rumaihi, Muhammad Jassim Marhoon, Walid Darraji

Referee: Lida Gombe (Japan), AFC observers: Ahiro Nicho (Japan), Walid Muhammad Al Balushi (the UAE).