JEDDAH, 22 January 2007 — The fate of the four teams in Group B remained up in the air after yesterday’s matches in the 18th Gulf Cup. In all likelihood the fight for two semifinal berths will extend all the way to the final matches of the group on Wednesday, which will take place at the same time.
Saudi Arabia failed to deliver the victory and join early Group B qualifiers Oman to the semifinals of the competition drawing 1-1 against Qatar yesterday.
Earlier in the same group, Iraq and Bahrain drew 1-1 in another exciting match. The qualifying chances of Bahrain and Qatar, the defending champions, are in jeopardy. Qatar and Bahrain managed to collect only one point from two matches. Bahrain lost the opening match against Saudi Arabia 2-1 and drew the second against Iraq. Qatar lost the opening match against Iraq 1-0 and drew the second against Saudi Arabia 1-1.
Bahrain and Qatar are to face each other in the final match of the group on Wednesday and either team must win and score many goals to advance and hope that the Saudi-Iraq match produces a winner. A simple draw between the sides would mean both Saudi Arabia and Iraq will advance to the next round with five points each leaving Qatar and Bahrain out of the competition. Saudi Arabia and Iraq each have 4 points each going into their match on Wednesday.
The first match between Iraq and Bahrain was the strongest so far in the competition. Bahrain came on strong and determined to win the game three points to stay alive in the competition knowing a loss would mean a sad exit from the competition and a draw would diminish their chances of qualifying for the semifinals. The only choice was to win. Bahrain were first to score in the 9th minute from a nice header by the defender Abdullah Al-Marzooki. Bahrain could not hold on to the lead for more than two minutes as Hawar Mulla Muhammad scored the equalizer and his second personal goal in the competition from a fast counter attack that saw him dip the ball over the goalkeeper.
Both teams matched attacks and counter attacks. The Iraqis wanted to end the match with a win and qualify early because a defeat or a draw would result in their fate being decided in the predictably tough match against Saudi Arabia.
Talal Yousuf nearly took the lead for Bahrain before the end of the first half from a nice shot that grazed the post. In the second half Bahrain were slightly better than Iraq, defending most of the time, taking advantage of the enemy lapses and creating a gap in the back to launch fast counter attacks. Despite the many chances that were available to both teams the match ended 1-1.
Saudi Arabia were equally determined to secure the game three points needed to advance to the next round. In the first five minutes both teams probed each other in defense. The match soon opened up in the 9th minute when a free kick executed by Ali Naser found its way in the back of the Saudi net, the ball skipping past the defenders and the goalkeeper.
Saudi Arabia tried to go for an early equalizer without success. Throughout the match, the Saudi strikers relied on cutting through the middle of Qatari defense line as all their passes were directed to the middle. The entire crosses over from the wings were not affective and easily landed in the hands of the Qatari goalkeeper. The Qatari team relied heavily on fast counter attacks to Sebastian and Yaser Muhammadi in the striking line. The first half ended 1-0 in favor of Qatar.
In the second half, Yaser Al-Qahtani came close to equalize in the minutes 56 when Abdu Utaif managed to pass the Qatari wing defender and give a nice cross to Al-Qahtani in front of the Qatari goalkeeper. Al-Qahtani’s shot was then nicely saved by the goalkeeper. In the 61st minute, Al-Qahtani, who was the star of the match, made a long pass inside the penalty box to Malek Muaz who came face to face with the goalkeeper but whose shot was badly taken and missed the target.
The Saudi efforts paid off in the 72nd minute when Muaz took the ball from the midfield and ran with bullet-like speed toward the Qatari net. He then zigzagged his way past three defenders and shot the ball from inside the penalty box into the left hand side of the goalkeeper scoring one of the most beautiful goals in the competition.
The referee showed the red card and the marching orders in the 74th minute to Ibraheem Al-Ghannam of Qatar for hard tackle against Al-Qahtani and this apparently whetted the Saudi appetite for goals.
The Kingdom’s golden chance to take the lead and seal the match came in the 80th minute when Abdul Utaif took the ball inside the penalty box and dipped the ball over the goalkeeper into the back of the net, but it dangerously crossed the top bar. Saudi Arabia pushed hard to score but the Qatari defense line had thwarted all their efforts. Al-Qahtani had a last chance to take the lead for the Kingdom in minutes 90 but his nice shot inside the penalty box dangerously crossed the right post.
Saudi Arabia and Iraq are equal on 4 points but the former lead the group on goal difference. Bahrain and Qatar are in third and fourth place each with one point.
