BEIJING, 19 July 2004 — The underdogs bared their teeth at the Asian Cup yesterday as three-time champions Saudi Arabia were held by debutants Turkmenistan while Indonesia scored an upset victory over Qatar.
A last-gasp equalizer saw Asian Cup debutants Turkmenistan earn a well-deserved 2-2 draw with three-time champions Saudi Arabia here yesterday.
The game played at Longquan Stadium in sultry Sichuan province was well fought out with the Turkmenis using their size against the much quicker Saudi team.
Forward Begenchmuhammed Kuliyev was the hero for Turkmenistan, sending a free kick into the back of the net from 30 meters out in injury time to give the Central Asians a well-deserved draw.
For much of the second half it appeared that the Saudis superior speed was going to win the day, especially after striker Yasser Al-Qahtani headed home over the outstreched arms of goalkeeper Yevgeniy Naboychenko on 58 minutes to put his side up 2-1.
Turkmenistan were on the attack for most of the match, with swarming play in midfield constantly frustrating the Saudi build up and creating scoring chances for the Turkmenis counterattack.
Turkmenistan opened the scoring with striker Nazar Bayramov taking a deflected cross in the goal box and heading it over Saudi keeper Tariq Al-Hargan in the sixth minute.
But the 1-0 lead was short-lived, with Al Qahtani knocking home a penalty kick three minutes later after Saudi striker Saad Al -Dosari was brought down in the box.
The Saudi team, headed by Dutch coach Gerard Van Der Lem, has been depleted by injuries, with key players like midfielders Mohammed Nur, Abdullah Al-Wakid and Mohammed Ameen, and defender Osama Al-Harbi all failing to join the team in China.
In the late Group C match, Uzbekistan downed Iraq 1-0 thanks to another curling free-kick, captain Mirdjalal Kasimov floating a sublime shot into the top corner after 22 minutes.
Iraq, who have picked their Olympic squad to China, dominated for long periods of a physical encounter that saw both sides finish with 10 men after two red cards in the final 10 minutes.
Earlier, Frenchman Philippe Troussier confirmed his decision to step down as Qatar coach at the end of the tournament after seeing his team beaten 2-1 by Indonesia in an upset opening defeat.
Troussier’s team was sunk by goals in each half from Indonesia’s Budi Sudarsono and Ponaryo Astaman in front of a paltry 1,000 fans in the 66,000-seater Workers Stadium.
The Group A loss was yet another crushing setback for Troussier, who inspired Japan to victory in the 2000 Asian Cup before guiding them into the last 16 of the World Cup two years later. Troussier — appointed last July on a lucrative two-year contract — confirmed he would part company with the Gulf side at the end of the tournament. Sudarsono gave Indonesia the lead after getting on the end of a toe-poked through ball by Bambang Pamungkas to prod home on 26 minutes.
And Qatar suffered another hammer-blow five minutes after the break when Astaman unleashed a thunderous 25-yarder that crashed in off the underside of the bar past keeper Abdulaziz Ali. Qatar launched a furious late rally that produced an 85th minute goal for Magid Mohamed, but it was too little too late.
