CALCUTTA, 17 August 2006 — Striker Yasser Al-Qahtani scored a hat trick as Saudi Arabia handed out a 3-0 football lesson to India in their AFC Asian Cup Group A qualifier at the Salt Lake stadium here yesterday.
Qahtani scored twice in the first half and completed his treble after the break. The match, however, witnessed a positive display by the Indians compared to their efforts against Yemen in Delhi a few months back. Two goal-bound shots deflected off the crossbar while Manjit Singh missed an absolute sitter, denying what could have been a great result for the Indians.
India went into the game, which was marred by heavy showers throughout, with skipper Baichung Bhutia as the sole striker with midfielders Steven Dias, Manjit Singh and Renedy Singh providing back-up service.
The Saudis, with 8 World Cuppers in their squad, went on the offensive from the opening minute. It was in the second minute that skipper Hussain Sulaimani made a surging run from the left, getting past everything the defense could put up. Sulaimani cut in close to the left touchline and squared it to Al-Qahtani. Evading one defender Al-Qahtani chipped the ball to the far end post beating custodian Sandip Nandy.
The early lead knocked India’s confidence badly as for the next half hour, they went searching for a proper plan. Bhutia who clearly felt the absence of a partner appeared helpless amid the tall and big-built defenders. Bhutia, however, missed two scoring chances - once in the 45th minute when he shot wide in a one-to-one situation with goalkeeper Al-Dosari. The feeble right-footer only rolled into the side net. The second came in the 83rd minute when he chested down a Surkumar Singh free-kick before unleashing a fiery right-footer only to be denied by the goalpost.
Saudi Arabia, who were toying with the Indian defense from the beginning, again found the target in the 20th minute when Ameen Haidar on the right, centerd the ball into the top box for an unmarked Qahtani for whom it was a regulation header to finish off.
Eight minutes after they conceded the goal, the Indians came in close of scoring when Dias latched on to a miss pass and made a run dodging two defenders. He centered for Manjit Singh but the unmarked Singh failed to convert the chance, heading straight to Al-Dosari.
After the change of the ends, the Indians started making more organized forays into the Saudi box — some of which almost turned beneficial.
Qahtani, who was later booked for slapping Steven Dias, again found the target for the third time in the 52nd minute. Al-Dosari squared a pass to Mohammed Haider in the box. Foxing defender Deepak Mondal, Haider shot at goal but the ball deflected off Manjit and a surging Qahtani collected the unmarked ball and hit home with a right footer.
Elsewhere, Australia became the first side to book a spot in the 2007 Asian Cup finals after grinding out a 2-0 home victory over Kuwait and South Korea also maintained their perfect record in Group B as they produced an efficient 3-0 win away to Taiwan in new Dutch coach Pim Verbeek’s first competitive game.
Japan struggled to a 2-0 win over Yemen in Niigata but victory kept the holders level with Saudi Arabia on six points after two games in Group A. Qatar’s goalkeeper Abdulaziz Ali was sent off after just 19 minutes in Chittagong but his side still thrashed Bangladesh 4-1 to take a major step toward qualifying.
Qatar now have nine points from three games in Group F with Bangladesh rooted at the bottom without a point.
The Socceroos successfully completed their first assignment since ditching Oceania for Asia thanks to goals from Travis Dodd and Sasho Petrovski in the last 14 minutes in Sydney. Australia were missing all their Europe-based players but Dodd’s crisp finish and substitute Petrovski’s close-range goal three minutes from time maintained the team’s momentum after they reached the last 16 of the World Cup.
The Australians, who became part of the Asian Football Confederation only in January this year, advanced to next year’s Asian Cup finals after Lebanon’s withdrawal from qualifying.
The Lebanese were forced to pull out because of the heavy damage inflicted on the country by Israeli airstrikes.
Australia’s victory therefore guaranteed them a top-two finish in a Group D reduced to three teams following their 3-1 victory over Bahrain in their opening qualifier. Co-hosts Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand had already qualified automatically for the finals. Japan failed to impress in their first competitive match under former Yugoslavia coach Ivica Osim but second-half goals from Yuki Abe and Hizato Sato spared the home side’s blushes. World Cup striker Ahn Jung-hwan gave South Korea a 31st-minute lead before goals from Jung Jo-gook and Kim Do-hoon after the break secured the points.
— With input from agencies
