JEDDAH, 15 July 2007 — Super sub Saad Al-Harithi produced the magic in injury time as Saudi Arabia snatched victory at the nth moment against Indonesia in Jakarta yesterday.
Sent in to replace Yasser Al-Qahtani in the last three minutes of the game, Al-Harithi rose like a phoenix to nod the ball into the Indonesia goal for a 2-1 victory that not only vaulted them to the top of the Asian Cup Group D but also earned their embattled coach Helio dos Angos some breathing space.
The Saudis, in a make-or-break game after their opening encounter against South Korea had ended in a 1-1 draw, nearly let this one slip away too. After sustained domination of the second half against the co-hosts, who had held out admirably after first-half goals from Al-Qahtani and Aiboy Elie had seen the teams level 1-1 at the break, it needed Al-Harithi’s goal to unlock the Indonesian defense and seal victory.
The game proved a near-replica of their first group match, where Al-Harithi looked a gift horse in the mouth in injury time, when he shot wild with an open goal staring at him. But yesterday he came up trumps in a near-similar situation.
The victory enabled Saudi Arabia to increase their chances of advancing with only Bahrain to play on Wednesday in their last group match. The win also proved a heart-breaker for Indonesia, who with three points from their two matches, now take on South Korea. Only a victory against the Koreans would keep the Indonesians in the fray. Abdulrahman Al-Qahtani was also awarded the best player of the game, and this added more joy to the Saudis, who had to labor for their victory.
“Credit to us. The win was very important for Saudi Arabia,” the Saudi coach said, while brushing off the criticism that has plagued him. “I don’t care about it. The only way to silence the critics is with results, and good results.”
Indonesia coach Ivan Kolev paid tribute to the 88,000 fans who crammed the stadium, and said his players would rebound against South Korea on Wednesday. “I’m very disappointed for the players, the team and the spectators. We should have got a point,” said the Bulgarian. “Hopefully the players will recover and we will be back against Korea.”
Helio dos Anjos, meanwhile, continues to receive heat from Saudi fans for his exclusion of Hamad Al-Montashiri. He told the AFC Asian Cup official website, “When you put together a list, there will always be questions. This is the same problem all over the world.”
He added, “My first job was to observe the players and the second was to come up with a list of 30 players for training and then after that to select 23 players for this tournament.”
“The only time we can be judged is on the field and we will give the answer on the field,” he said. “I’m sorry about Shalhoub because he was injured. I feel sorry for him because he could not participate in the World Cup too, so it’s disappointing for him,” he said, adding, “With Al-Montashiri, it was a technical issue and it was my decision but he is a player with a lot of experience. Also it will be good for Waleed Abdurabouh to gain some experience.”
It was a thrilling match played in a carnival atmosphere in front of a sell-out crowd.
In the ninth minute Al-Qahtani went on a mazy run down the left, beating four players before setting up Malek Muaz but he blazed well over from six yards.
Two minutes later, Indonesia missed an even better chance. Budi Sudarsono’s speculative 30-yard free-kick was pushed out by Yasser Al-Mosailem in the Saudi goal and the ball dropped straight to Elie at an angle eight yards out but his first-time finish with the goal gaping was appalling and went for a throw-in.
Saudi Arabia punished Indonesia in the next minute as Al-Qahtani nipped in front of his marker to plant a firm header from Ahmed Al-Bahri’s cross into the bottom corner. The action was unrelenting and in the 20 minute Indonesia were level, thanks largely to Syamsul Bachri’s industry.
He won a tackle 30 yards out and the ball broke past the backline to Elie, who rounded Al-Mosailem and coolly slotted home.
Late on in the half Al-Mosailem came to his side’s rescue twice in quick succession. First he tipped over Elie’s chip to the back post and then from the resulting corner he tipped over Richardo Salampessy’s firm bouncing header. The second half was every bit as exciting and the Saudis should have gone in front on 51 minutes when they orchestrated a two-on-one situation but Abdulrahman Al-Qahtani shot wide of the far post.
Indonesia started to pay for all the chasing they did in the first half and the chances were coming thick and fast for Saudi Arabia.
Indonesia again had a let off 20 minutes from time when goalkeeper Yandri Pitoy made a point blank save from Yasser Al-Qahtani after a brilliant run down the left from full-back Kamil Al-Mousa. With 10 minutes to go Indonesia escaped again as neat interplay between Saudi Arabia’s forward pairing that saw Muaz set Al-Qahtani free but Muhammad Ridwan recovered to clear for a corner. But deep into injury time they could do nothing to stop Al-Harithi’s header from a free-kick.
Meanwhile, according to Arab News online poll, Saudi fans continue to believe in their team with 184 votes placing Saudi Arabia first. Second place went to Australia with 84 votes, third to Japan with 70 votes, fourth to China with 33 votes, and fifth to UAE with 30 votes.
— With input from agencies
