Courtesy: Gulf Daily News


UAE dash Bahrain's AFC hopes

Thursday, December 15, 2011

BAHRAIN's chances of reaching the 2012 AFC Futsal Championship vanished after a heart-breaking 2-4 defeat to the UAE at Al Arabi Futsal Stadium in Kuwait.

In their deciding Group 'B' in the West Asian Championship in Kuwait, which also served as qualifier for next year's continental finals, Bahrain needed victory to finish in the top two for a place in the semi-finals.

But Bahrain, who suffered a 1-5 defeat to Lebanon in the previous game, were unable to match the strength and experience of the UAE, who ended their campaign on a positive note as they picked up their first win of the qualifiers.

Ahmad Mahmood put the UAE one up in the fourth minute before a Jassam Anan strike six minutes later made it 1-1 going into the break.

One minute after the restart, Thamer Shamoos gave Bahrain the lead but the UAE levelled three minutes later through Omer Salmeen.

Salmeen then netted his second and Bahrain's fourth one minute after Abdulkarim Jamil had made it 3-1in the 36th minute.


Disappointment
Bahrain's disappointment was compounded in the final minute when goalkeeper Sayed Abbas and goalscorer Shamoos let their frustration get the better of them with both players picking up their second yellow cards of the match.

Both Bahrain and the UAE finished on three points in this four-team group, which also features Iraq and Lebanon.

Iraq, meanwhile, reached the semi-finals of the qualifying competition with a 4-1 win over Lebanon, who progressed into the next stage as group runners-up.

Hashim Khalid put Iraq 2-0 up with goals in the fifth and 11th minutes, before while Mahmoud Itani reduced the deficit.

However, second-half strikes came from Karrar Mohsin in the 24th minute and skipper Nussein Abd Ali, ensuring the Iraqis top the table with seven points, one more than Lebanon.

The qualifying competition got underway with nine countries taking part in this continental competition. They were divided into two groups, with Group 'A' featuring five teams - hosts Kuwait, Qatar, Palestine, Syria and Saudi Arabia.

Thee winners and runners-up from each group will progress into the competition's semi-finals, to be held today. The final will take place tomorrow.




Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com