RIYADH: Qatar laid siege to Yemen’s goal during most of the second-half of their Gulf Cup Group A encounter yesterday but the underdogs managed to hold on for a goalless draw at the King Fahd Stadium here to the delight of their numerous travelling fans.
In the other Group A match of the night, hosts Saudi Arabia thrashed Bahrain 3-0.
With 90 places separating them in the FIFA rankings, Qatar started as favourites yesterday but the Yemeni players put up a spirited, if somewhat cynical, defensive display.
The Yemenis displayed great energy right from the start and their best chance to score came on the half-hour mark when one of Qatar’s full-backs lost the ball in the middle of the pitch, allowing a midfielder to pick out Abdul Al Matari who kicked the ball just wide of the post.
Qatar’s first chance came 20 minutes before the break when Hassan Khalid rounded the defence and unleashed a shot toward the bottom right corner, but Yemen’s keeper Mohammad Ayash tipped it wide at the post.
In the second-half, Al Annabi ratcheted up the pressure and created numerous chances but just couldn’t find the back of the net.
Qatar’s experienced midfielder Wisam Rizq felt the results may have been very different on any other day. “I am not happy that luck deserted us in the game,” Rizq said. “This draw does not reflect that we tried so hard on the pitch. But, somehow, we couldn’t score any goals as luck was not on our side.”
Rizq also didn’t take too kindly to Yemen’s tactics. “Yemen defended most of the time and it was obvious they were too defensive,” he said.
Qatari coach Djamel Belmadi also lashed out the guarded approach, saying his opponents seemed determined to get a draw.
“Yemen did not play attacking football. They seemed to be playing with 11 defenders,” Belmadi said after the game.
“When we played Saudi Arabia, we were playing to win, unlike Yemen who wanted to defend. They wasted time by falling on the pitch,” Belmadi said after the match, which had over nine minutes of injury time added on after the 90.
“We tried to create chances and we succeeded in doing that but we couldn’t score goals. The game ended in a draw and that’s normal,” he added.
However, Yemen’s defensive tactics didn’t seem to bother their large contingent of fans. In fact, their reaction showed that they were more than satisfied with yesterday’s result.
After yesterday’s matches, Saudi Arabia sit on top of Group A with Qatar and Yemen in joint second and Bahrain in last. Qatar are ahead of Yemen on goal difference but to ensure safe passage to the semi-finals, they will have to defeat Bahrain on Wednesday. “We have to play a really attacking game against Bahrain and score goals,” Rizq said. THE PENINSULA
