Showing posts with label AFC Cup. Show all posts

Al Ettifaq 0-0 Al Ahed

Written by Vishal Patel in

Dammam: Saudi Arabia’s Al Ettifaq were held to a frustrating goalless draw by Lebanon’s Al Ahed on Wednesday as both sides maintained unbeaten records in Group C of the AFC Cup.

After both teams scored five goals in winning their Group C openers two weeks ago, goals were expected at Prince Mohammed Bin Fahad Stadium.

But despite Al Ettifaq dominating for long periods, the home side failed to find a way past Al Ahed goalkeeper Mohamad Santina, although the visitors did have their chances with Hassan Mezher wasting the best opportunity of the match for the visitors in the first half. 

"It's really disappointing that we couldn't win as we wasted a lot of chances to score. Al Ahed played in a defensive formation and made things hard for us to create chances and score,” Said Al Ettifaq coach Branko Ivankovic.

"We were expecting a hard match and we were better in the second period and put them under a lot of pressure, but we were unlucky. Had we scored one goal, things would have been different."

Al Ettifaq enjoyed much more of the attacking play in the first half, with Saleh Al Saqri sending a flicked header crashing into the face of the crossbar before Yousef Al Salem headed narrowly over for the home side midway through the opening 45 minutes. 

But the home side should have been behind at half-time as only a last-ditch block on the line from Bruno Lazaroni denied Mezher, although the defender should have done better with the goal at his mercy. 

A flying save from Al Ahed goalkeeper Santina denied Hamad Al Hamad five minutes into the second half as the home side made a confident start to the second 45 minutes, although the visitors came close as Hussein Dakik drilled a shot just past the Al Ettifaq goalkeeper upright. 

The open nature of the second half continued with chances at both ends as Al Salem was denied by the legs of Santina as the home side enjoyed the better of the scoring opportunities.

And Santina again came to the visitors’ rescue with five minutes remaining as the Al Ahed goalkeeper pushed a looping header from Yahya Otayn over the crossbar.

Substitute Saleh Bashar blazed wide in the closing stages as a frantic finish from the home side failed to bring a goal. 

"The match was hard for us because Al Ettifaq are a strong team and they have great capabilities which made them favourites to win the match. We played with special tactics and tried to play on counter attacks,” said Al Ahed coach Mohamad Sahil.

"We achieved a draw which is valuable especially because we were playing away from home. 

“Al Ettifaq are a great team, but they are going through a bad period and we played with a formation which made things hard for them." 

VB Addu 2-2 Kuwait SC

Written by Vishal Patel in


Male: Kuwait SC denied VB Addu a memorable victory in the AFC Cup as the 2009 champions came from two goals down to hold the Maldivian side to a 2-2 draw at the National Stadium in Male on Wednesday. 

After Kuwait SC had missed a penalty, the home side surged ahead with goals by Liberian striker Charles Wright and Shamweel Qasim.

But the Kuwaiti side continued to press and Abdulhadi Khudhair pulled a goal back before Malian midfielder Lassana Fane rescued a point with an equaliser in stoppage time.

The result leaves both teams still stuck to the bottom of Group C with one point each after two games.

Al Kuwait had a glorious opportunity to open the scoring after 27 minutes when they were awarded a penalty after goalkeeper Abdulla Ziyazan brought down Khudhair in the box. But Brazilian striker Rogerio wasted the chance, firing the spot kick against the woodwork.

Encouraged by that let-off, VB took the lead six minutes later. Sierra Leone striker Abu Desmond Mansaray played a superb pass to Wright and the Liberian fired home his first goal for the club.

Qasim extended their advantage eight minutes into the second half with a powerful drive into the top right corner of the net.

However, Khudhair reduced the deficit in the 72nd minute after running on to a through pass and chipping the ball past Ziyazan.

And the visitors’ late pressure finally told when Fane fired home a loose ball in a crowded penalty box in added time to give his side a share of the points.

It was Kuwait SC’s third consecutive draw under Mohamed Abdullah, who took charge of the club on an interim basis following the dismissal of Croatian coach Dragan Talajic two weeks ago.

But despite their late escape, Abdullah felt that his side had deserved three points.

“Sometimes in football there is injustice. We were very unlucky. We controlled the game and played really well in both the halves. We got around 10 chances in the first half and numerous in the second. They got two chances and they utilised them,” he said.

“Our players worked hard and it was a good performance by them. We just have to convert it to goals.”

VB Addu coach Bahtiyar Can Vanli was unhappy that his players had switched off in the final 10 minutes of the game.

“I am disappointed that we lost two important points. We controlled the game and played well till the 80th minute but after that it was disappointing,” said the Turk.

“Our players have to learn that a game cannot be won after playing 80 minutes. They need to play the 90 minutes to win the game. Our players went behind the ball and played in our half in the last 10 minutes. That’s not my instruction at all. We let them build the pressure on us.”  

Al Wehdat 2-1 Al Arouba

Written by Vishal Patel in


 
Amman:Ali Salah and Mahmoud Shelbaieh scored as Jordan’s Al Wehdat picked up a first win of the AFC Cup with a 2-1 victory over Oman’s Al Arouba at King Abdullah International Stadium on Wednesday.

Salah headed home four minutes before the break to open the scoring shortly after coming on as a substitute before Shelbaieh crucially added a second for the home side just after the hour mark. 

Juma Darwish pulled a goal back for Al Arouba with 15 minutes remaining, but the home side held on to bounce back from their 2-1 opening day defeat by Neftchi to move a point behind the Uzbek side, who shared a 2-2 draw with Salgaocar in India, in Group D.

"I'm happy as we got a deserved win. It was a good match from both sides and we managed to take advantage from two chances and scored two goals which were enough to win,” said Al Wehdat coach Branko Smiljanic.

"We should have scored more than two goals, but we lacked the quick pace of our midfielders. 

“Our players were tired due to the heavy schedule and hopefully we can get past this problem and improve our performance in the upcoming matches."

Al Wehdat edged an evenly contested first half as Iraqi striker Salah, who had only been on the field for a few seconds after replacing Amer Abuhwaiti, headed home Abdalla Deeb’s corner four minutes before half-time. 

And Salah should have doubled Al Wehdat’s lead seven minutes into the second half, but with only Al Arouba goalkeeper Ahmed Al Qulhati to beat, failed to convert Rafat Ali’s cross. 

But fortunately for Salah, Shelbaieh struck for the home side midway through the second half as his lob from just outside the area beat Al Qulhati.

Al Arouba pulled a goal back as Darwish’s shot deflected in off the crossbar, but Al Arouba fell short of following up their 1-0 opening day win over Salgaocar.

"We played well and I'm satisfied with our performance as we created a lot of chances and the result could have been different had we scored from the chances that we created,” said Al Arouba coach Mukhtar Mukhtar.

"Al Wehdat are a good team and they have a lot of experience in the AFC Cup, and despite the fact they are having some problems in the local league, they are always strong in the AFC Cup.” 

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Showing posts with label AFC Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AFC Cup. Show all posts

Wednesday

Al Ettifaq 0-0 Al Ahed

Posted by Vishal Patel
Dammam: Saudi Arabia’s Al Ettifaq were held to a frustrating goalless draw by Lebanon’s Al Ahed on Wednesday as both sides maintained unbeaten records in Group C of the AFC Cup.

After both teams scored five goals in winning their Group C openers two weeks ago, goals were expected at Prince Mohammed Bin Fahad Stadium.

But despite Al Ettifaq dominating for long periods, the home side failed to find a way past Al Ahed goalkeeper Mohamad Santina, although the visitors did have their chances with Hassan Mezher wasting the best opportunity of the match for the visitors in the first half. 

"It's really disappointing that we couldn't win as we wasted a lot of chances to score. Al Ahed played in a defensive formation and made things hard for us to create chances and score,” Said Al Ettifaq coach Branko Ivankovic.

"We were expecting a hard match and we were better in the second period and put them under a lot of pressure, but we were unlucky. Had we scored one goal, things would have been different."

Al Ettifaq enjoyed much more of the attacking play in the first half, with Saleh Al Saqri sending a flicked header crashing into the face of the crossbar before Yousef Al Salem headed narrowly over for the home side midway through the opening 45 minutes. 

But the home side should have been behind at half-time as only a last-ditch block on the line from Bruno Lazaroni denied Mezher, although the defender should have done better with the goal at his mercy. 

A flying save from Al Ahed goalkeeper Santina denied Hamad Al Hamad five minutes into the second half as the home side made a confident start to the second 45 minutes, although the visitors came close as Hussein Dakik drilled a shot just past the Al Ettifaq goalkeeper upright. 

The open nature of the second half continued with chances at both ends as Al Salem was denied by the legs of Santina as the home side enjoyed the better of the scoring opportunities.

And Santina again came to the visitors’ rescue with five minutes remaining as the Al Ahed goalkeeper pushed a looping header from Yahya Otayn over the crossbar.

Substitute Saleh Bashar blazed wide in the closing stages as a frantic finish from the home side failed to bring a goal. 

"The match was hard for us because Al Ettifaq are a strong team and they have great capabilities which made them favourites to win the match. We played with special tactics and tried to play on counter attacks,” said Al Ahed coach Mohamad Sahil.

"We achieved a draw which is valuable especially because we were playing away from home. 

“Al Ettifaq are a great team, but they are going through a bad period and we played with a formation which made things hard for them." 
at 3/21/2012 0 comments

VB Addu 2-2 Kuwait SC

Posted by Vishal Patel

Male: Kuwait SC denied VB Addu a memorable victory in the AFC Cup as the 2009 champions came from two goals down to hold the Maldivian side to a 2-2 draw at the National Stadium in Male on Wednesday. 

After Kuwait SC had missed a penalty, the home side surged ahead with goals by Liberian striker Charles Wright and Shamweel Qasim.

But the Kuwaiti side continued to press and Abdulhadi Khudhair pulled a goal back before Malian midfielder Lassana Fane rescued a point with an equaliser in stoppage time.

The result leaves both teams still stuck to the bottom of Group C with one point each after two games.

Al Kuwait had a glorious opportunity to open the scoring after 27 minutes when they were awarded a penalty after goalkeeper Abdulla Ziyazan brought down Khudhair in the box. But Brazilian striker Rogerio wasted the chance, firing the spot kick against the woodwork.

Encouraged by that let-off, VB took the lead six minutes later. Sierra Leone striker Abu Desmond Mansaray played a superb pass to Wright and the Liberian fired home his first goal for the club.

Qasim extended their advantage eight minutes into the second half with a powerful drive into the top right corner of the net.

However, Khudhair reduced the deficit in the 72nd minute after running on to a through pass and chipping the ball past Ziyazan.

And the visitors’ late pressure finally told when Fane fired home a loose ball in a crowded penalty box in added time to give his side a share of the points.

It was Kuwait SC’s third consecutive draw under Mohamed Abdullah, who took charge of the club on an interim basis following the dismissal of Croatian coach Dragan Talajic two weeks ago.

But despite their late escape, Abdullah felt that his side had deserved three points.

“Sometimes in football there is injustice. We were very unlucky. We controlled the game and played really well in both the halves. We got around 10 chances in the first half and numerous in the second. They got two chances and they utilised them,” he said.

“Our players worked hard and it was a good performance by them. We just have to convert it to goals.”

VB Addu coach Bahtiyar Can Vanli was unhappy that his players had switched off in the final 10 minutes of the game.

“I am disappointed that we lost two important points. We controlled the game and played well till the 80th minute but after that it was disappointing,” said the Turk.

“Our players have to learn that a game cannot be won after playing 80 minutes. They need to play the 90 minutes to win the game. Our players went behind the ball and played in our half in the last 10 minutes. That’s not my instruction at all. We let them build the pressure on us.”  
at 3/21/2012 0 comments

Al Wehdat 2-1 Al Arouba

Posted by Vishal Patel

 
Amman:Ali Salah and Mahmoud Shelbaieh scored as Jordan’s Al Wehdat picked up a first win of the AFC Cup with a 2-1 victory over Oman’s Al Arouba at King Abdullah International Stadium on Wednesday.

Salah headed home four minutes before the break to open the scoring shortly after coming on as a substitute before Shelbaieh crucially added a second for the home side just after the hour mark. 

Juma Darwish pulled a goal back for Al Arouba with 15 minutes remaining, but the home side held on to bounce back from their 2-1 opening day defeat by Neftchi to move a point behind the Uzbek side, who shared a 2-2 draw with Salgaocar in India, in Group D.

"I'm happy as we got a deserved win. It was a good match from both sides and we managed to take advantage from two chances and scored two goals which were enough to win,” said Al Wehdat coach Branko Smiljanic.

"We should have scored more than two goals, but we lacked the quick pace of our midfielders. 

“Our players were tired due to the heavy schedule and hopefully we can get past this problem and improve our performance in the upcoming matches."

Al Wehdat edged an evenly contested first half as Iraqi striker Salah, who had only been on the field for a few seconds after replacing Amer Abuhwaiti, headed home Abdalla Deeb’s corner four minutes before half-time. 

And Salah should have doubled Al Wehdat’s lead seven minutes into the second half, but with only Al Arouba goalkeeper Ahmed Al Qulhati to beat, failed to convert Rafat Ali’s cross. 

But fortunately for Salah, Shelbaieh struck for the home side midway through the second half as his lob from just outside the area beat Al Qulhati.

Al Arouba pulled a goal back as Darwish’s shot deflected in off the crossbar, but Al Arouba fell short of following up their 1-0 opening day win over Salgaocar.

"We played well and I'm satisfied with our performance as we created a lot of chances and the result could have been different had we scored from the chances that we created,” said Al Arouba coach Mukhtar Mukhtar.

"Al Wehdat are a good team and they have a lot of experience in the AFC Cup, and despite the fact they are having some problems in the local league, they are always strong in the AFC Cup.” 
at 3/21/2012 0 comments
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