DOHA, 11 December 2004 — Qatar came back twice from behind to hold the UAE 2-2 in the first match of the 17th Gulf Cup Tournament which opened to a packed house at the newly-built Al-Sadd Stadium yesterday.
Qatar looked well on their way to a 2-0 defeat in the Group A match when they hit back late to pull off a thrilling draw in front of 20,000 fans. Walid Jassim curled in a free kick from the edge of the box in the 90th minute and Wissam Rizk slotted Qatar’s second goal three minutes into stoppage time after the Emirati defense failed to clear another free kick.
The UAE struck first in the 41st minute when Subait Khater made no mistake with the penalty. Matar himself scored UAEs second goal making the most of a defensive lapse by Abdulla Obaid to easily beat Qatar’s goalkeeper Aamer Al-Kaabi. Earlier a colorful ceremony marked the opening ceremony with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani declaring the tournament open.
