JEDDAH, 18 November 2007 — The Saudi Arabian Olympic football team kept their hopes alive to qualify for the Beijing 2008 Olympics after defeating Qatar 2-1 at the Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd Stadium in Dammam yesterday.
The Saudi team arrived at the match with only five points from one win, two draws and one defeat. Saudi Arabia had come strong on Oct. 17 in its previous match against Vietnam winning 2-0. The team lost its first leg match against Qatar 1-0.
In its second match against Qatar, Saudi Arabia came with only one thing in mind to secure the game with three points and keep hopes alive — a loss would have meant a sad exit from the competition. Qatar also came to the match determined to secure a comfortable win to advance, especially since Qatar like Japan has seven points but ranked second on account of goal differences.
In front of a large group of cheering Saudi fans, the team pushed for an early goal from the very first minute forcing the Qatari team to remain on the defense.
The ball was played in the Qatari half for most of the time. Qatar had an organized defense and made sharp counterattacks. The Qatari team managed to defend themselves well putting the Saudi team in a very difficult position.
The Saudi team came strong in the second half knowing they only had 45 minutes to win or leave the competition. Majed Muhammad of Qatar stunned the Saudi team in the 68th minute when he received the ball inside the penalty box and managed to score. The Saudi team pushed forward waiting for a chance to equalize.
As fans thought Saudi Arabia was about to lose, the game took a new turn when Majed Muhammad was handed a red card for hitting a Saudi player. Saudi Arabia came back strong knowing the Qatari side was down with one man. In the 76th minute, the Saudi team scored a goal from a penalty kick handed after the Kingdom’s Jufeen Al-Bish was tackled inside the penalty box.
After the equalizer, Saudi Arabia went on the attack. The Qatari team drew back to protect their net and to keep the match leveled 1-1. Following a corner kick, Abdul Lateef Al-Ghannam headed the ball toward the net, which was then defended and came back to him on rebound. Al-Ghannam then put the ball in the net, winning the day for Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi team will leave immediately for Japan to prepare early for a match against Japan on Nov. 21. Saudi Arabia is second in Group-C with 8 points, Japan first with 10 points, Qatar third with 7 points and Vietnam last with 2 points. Earlier Japan defeated Vietnam 4-0 in Vietnam.
