JEDDAH, 30 December 2003 — Saudi Arabia were unlucky to drop a point to Qatar in the 16th Gulf Cup Soccer Championship in a goalless encounter in Kuwait City, as hosts Kuwait suffered their second embarrassment of the event when they were beaten 2-0 by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the first match yesterday.
Both Kuwait and UAE were coming into this match following indifferent performances in their openers, but it was UAE who showed greater grit and clinical finishing on this day. UAE had lost to the Saudis in the first match and Kuwait were held goalless by Oman on the first day.
UAE knew that their chances of staying in the fray resided on their performance yesterday and they came out punching with some organized moves. They played to a plan — first shackling Kuwaiti striker Bashar Abdullah with some tight marking and then effecting swift counters when the Kuwaiti raids foundered in front of the UAE box.
The first half was dominated by UAE showing crispness and swiftness in their counter attacks. In face of such dominance Kuwait looked slow in their efforts, both in their advance and their recovery, and with Bashar effectively being canceled out from the equation their attack was rendered ineffective. UAE threatened Kuwait in the 7th minute when Muhammad Omar’s dangerous cross was cleared by Kuwaiti defenders. In the 12th minute Sbeet Khater’s shot was parried by Kuwaiti goalie Shihab Katkori. And after Humaied Fakher tested Kuwait with a long range shot, UAE’s dominance was near total.
UAE picked up from where they had left off and struck in the 70th minute with Sultan Rashed neatly translating the set piece into a spectacular goal. UAE’s tactical withdrawal to defensive positions led to the second goal in the 77th minute. Muhammad Rashed received a nice high ball from the wing and he headed the ball goalward. Katkori managed to block the ball and the rebound fell onto his path and this time he laid the ball into the back of the empty net.
Saudi Arabia have themselves to blame for not walking away with maximum points against Qatar in a game which they held sway. Saudi Arabia was more organized and played offensively in the first half and quickly established midfield control with Qatar defenders working overtime to contain the mercurial Talal Al-Meshal.
Saudi Arabia could have scored in the 36th minute from a penalty award resulting from a handling incident by a Qatar defender. Muhammad Al-Shalhoub, who scored the penalty against UAE, could only shoot straight in the Qatari keeper, who held on to the ball.
The second half was a near replica of the first with Saudi Arabia continuing to dominate against a defensive Qatar.
And in the 73rd minute, Saudi Arabia did manage to get the ball into the goal, the strike was canceled out by the referee for a foul. It was evident that luck was not smiling on the Saudis. In the 86th minute, Saudi Arabia came close again when Saud Khaybari’s cross in front of the empty Qatari goal was cleared by defenders before Yousri Al-Basha could reach it.
Saudi Arabia are still in first place with four points.
Rivaldo to Play for Ittihad
In another development, Mansour Al-Balawi, president of Ittihad club, said that they are hoping to land International Brazilian superstar Rivaldo to play for them for the rest of the season, and negotiations are in the final stages.
Al-Balawi said that the club and the player are close to a deal.
Al-Balawi said that they have offered the player $3.5 million to play for eight months. If negotiations are successful, Rivaldo will arrive in Jeddah on Jan. 23.
Meanwhile, in the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Soccer event, Al-Ahli will play Al-Shabab in the final round in Riyadh. Ahli need to win to qualify for the semifinal. Al-Ittifaq will play against Al-Nasr in Dammam. Semifinal games will be decided on Wednesday.
