JEDDAH: All sport critics and majority of Saudi Arabian fans agreed that Saudi goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah proved a savior for the Saudi national team in the first-leg playoff match against Bahrain on Saturday, which ended 0-0.
It was only because of Waleed Abdullah that the Saudis managed to come home with a clean slate. They will have another chance to prove themselves in the decider, which will be played next Wednesday in Riyadh.
According to sports critics, Bahrain should have won the match as they had the advantage of playing on their home ground. However, the result seems positive for the Saudis.
Like Bahrain, Saudi too missed many chances of scoring during the match. As for Bahrain, it was evident that the team was playing under pressure that contributed to the many easy chances they missed.
Madani Rahimi, Saudi sport critic, complemented the tactics of the Saudi coach. Madani said, “the Saudi team missed many chances to score but the players should understand the culture of winning”. He said “both teams deserve to win but the identity of the winning team will emerge on Wednesday.”
Naser Al-Mansour, the Saudi sport critic for Saudi sport channel, said that the first half was evenly balanced with attack and counter attacks. The second half definitely belonged to Bahrain and it was evident that they earned 11 corner kicks. He said that the Saudis put up a better show after the introduction of Al-Shamrani and Tayseer Al-Jasim.
Faisal Al-Dakheel, former Kuwaiti national player and sport critic speaking on Al-Jazeera sports channel, said that Bahrainis were pushing forward right from the start in search of an early goal. They did this till the last minute of the match. However, the Saudi defense did a good job and kept a close watch on Bahraini strikers Hussein Ali and Salman Essa.
Jasim Muhammad, Bahraini sport critic, said that Bahrain played an excellent game. “It was clear from the beginning that the Saudi team was in search for the equalizer in the match. The result was a total loss for Bahrain but a good result for Saudi.”
The Saudi coach refused to agree to what his counterpart said about Bahrain being better of the two teams. According to him, “how could they be better and not win the match? ” Both teams had an equal number of opportunities. He said that his team would focus on the home game in Riyadh next Wednesday.
“Both teams have equal chances to qualify and play against New Zealand. I have great respect for the Bahrain team because they are a strong team,” he added.
The Bahraini coach, however, was not satisfied with the match result saying that Bahrain missed many chances of scoring. He said that the team failed to take advantage of the 18 corner kicks and that they were playing under pressure as they were playing on their on soil.
