JAKARTA, 16 July 2007 — Tiny Bahrain shocked South Korea yesterday with a late winner as regional powerhouses Iran and China shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw at the Asian Cup.
The Koreans deserved three points but were mugged by Ismaeel Abdullatif who latched onto a rebound to cooly slot home for a 2-1 win with five minutes left.
Kim Do-heon had volleyed home with left foot for the opener in the fourth minute before Salman Isa Ghuloom leveled just before the break.
It leaves the 2002 World Cup semifinalists with an uphill task to qualify for the quarterfinals with a crunch must-win game against Indonesia on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia top Group D with four points from Indonesia and Bahrain on three. South Korea is bottom with one point.
“It was very difficult game. Our team was down but we bounced back,” said Bahrain’s veteran Czech coach Milan Macala of a side that made the semifinals of the last Asian Cup in 2004.
“Our tactical preparations paid off. We were very good under pressure and took our chances when we got them.” Korea’s Dutch coach Pim Verbeek said he felt his team deserved to win.
“We created more than enough chances but if you don’t score then it puts pressure on the defense,” said the Dutchman. “I didn’t for a minute think Bahrain would score. Still, the players had a good game and if they play like that on Wednesday, it will be interesting.”
In Kuala Lumpur, Iran were looking to avenge the defeat China inflicted on them in the semifinals of the last tournament in 2004, and they nearly got it with a concerted second half push as China sat back.
China went 2-0 up with early goals from Shao Jiayi and Mao Jianqing but were pegged back by a Ferydoon Zandi free-kick and a Javad Nekounam header in the second half.
The result means there’s all to play for in Group C where China, Iran, and Uzbekistan can qualify for the quarterfinals with one match left.
Iran and China are on four points, Uzbekistan has three while Malaysia props up the group with none.
China has the toughest task with the Uzbeks still to play, while Iran has a far easier game on Wednesday against the hapless Malaysians.
“We wanted a win but our second target was a draw,” said Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei, who was banished to the stands on a touchline ban for throwing a bottle during their 2-1 win over the Uzbeks.
“It suits us because now we’ve got an easy match against Malaysia. China and Uzbekistan have got a tough match against each other.” China, beaten finalists at the last Asian Cup four years ago on home soil, got off to a blistering start against the shaky Iranians with Shao Jiayi’s sixth minute free-kick handing them the early lead.
Winger Mao Jianqing made it 2-0 just after the half hour mark when he controlled the ball on the left and rifled it past ’keeper Hassan Roudbarian. Iran finally sparked to life and pulled one back through Zandi on the stroke of half-time.
China sat back and tried to protect their lead in the second half and Iran pressed forward to be finally rewarded when Nekounam nodded down into the bottom right of the goal with 16 minutes left. “The first half was great, one of the best we’ve had in the past two years,” said Chinese coach Zhu Guanghu.
“We had them under a lot of pressure and had a lot of chances. We went two goals up but unfortunately we gave them two chances.”
