Three beautiful goals by Omer Abdul Rahman, Ali Mabkhout and Mohammed Ahmed earned the UAE a long overdue 3-1 victory over Qatar in the opener of the 21st Gulf Cup at Khalifa Stadium in Manama, Bahrain on Saturday night.
Khalfan Ibrahim drew first blood for the Maroons from the spot as early as in the 10th minute of the first half and Omer Abdul Rahman levelled the result with a lovely free kick from the top of the box in the 13th minute, before Ali Mabkhout doubled the score-line for the boys in white in the 28th minute to end the first half on a very high note. Mohammed Ahmed headed home the third goal for the UAE lads in the 66th minute of the fast-paced clash.
“This is a great start, but it’s not the end of the tournament. We have improved our chances to claim one of the two spots in the knockout stage, but we are not there yet. There’s a long way to go and the Qataris have every chance to bounce back and work their way through,” a jubilant UAE head coach Mahdi Ali said later. Regarding his decision to send Ismail Matar in the last five minutes of the game, Ali said I have intended to make him part of the victory.
“Ismail Matar and Ahmed Khalil are back from different injuries and although they are physically and mentally fit, they still need to feel the hit of the official games,” he said. “The boys did a very good job and deserve to celebrate the splendid performance before we start our preparations for the most important part of the challenge,” he concluded. Meanwhile, Qatar’s head coach Paulo Autouri blamed the poor performance of his players for the undue defeat.
“We scored first, but the players failed to maintain their advantage due to lack of concentration,” the Brazilian said in a post-match chat. “I’m personally responsible for what has happened and I will figure out the cause of the poor form of the players. We conceded three goals due to poor clearance and positioning. The first goal was from a free kick and the keeper did nothing to direct the wall. The second goal was apparently due to the poor clearance of the defenders and the last goal was a result of improper positioning of the defenders inside the box.
The UAE player who headed home the third goal from a corner took a step forward without being marked by any of our players. We need to work on all of these points and compensate in the next game against Oman,” he said.
UAE line up against hosts Bahrain on Tuesday and face Oman in the final leg of the group stage on Friday.
Al Serkal hails UAE players
MANAMA – Yousuf Yaqoub Al Serkal, president of the UAEFA praised the fighting spirit of the national team against their Qatari counterparts in the opener of the 21st edition of the Gulf Cup.
Al Serkal congratulated the technical staff and players of their great start after beating Qatar 3-1. He urged the players to remain focus since the upcoming encounters will not be easy at all.
Meanwhile, the UAE football chief thanked the faithful fans who travelled all the way to cheer the players.
Meanwhile, Serkal denied to have said that he will quit as FA president in the event of losing the race for the AFC presidency.
“No statement has been made by me to the effect. This is extremely fabricated and unfounded news,” Al Serkal told www.uaefa.ae from Manama, Bahrain on Sunday.
“We are embarking on ambitious plans to develop the country’s football and there’s no link between my responsibility as president of the UAE’s football governing body and my campaign as a candidate for the AFC presidency,” he clarified.
“Such baseless and imaginary reports will never influence my determination to go ahead with my campaign for the AFC presidency. All what I have said is in case of success, I will resign from the UAE football association,” he said.
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