Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Five teams had their place in the last eight of the 2015 AFC Beach Soccer Championship confirmed following Tuesday’s Matchday 2 action with Oman, Japan, China the UAE, and Iran, courtesy of Lebanon’s overtime win, all remaining in the hunt for a ticket to the 2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Portugal.
UZBEKISTAN 6-5 UAE
Two Jafar Irismetov goals in the space of a minute at the end of the third period denied the UAE their second win of the 2015 AFC Beach Soccer Championship, as Uzbekistan edged the two-time Asian champions 6-5 on Tuesday.
But defeat proved not to be too costly for the 2007 and 2008 winners, who a guaranteed at least a second-place finish in three-team table regardless of what happens in Wednesday’s final Group C fixture between Uzbekistan and Iraq.
Ali Mohammad’s 10th minute goal gave the UAE a slender advantage to take into the second period but after Uzbekistan were brought back on to level terms courtesy of a Haitham Mohamed’s 20th minute own goal the initiative swung in favour of the Central Asians, with Irismetov grabbing the first of his hat-trick (21st) and Tokhir Abdurazzakov (24th) taking their tally to three, while Mohamed Muftah scored the UAE’s second goal…just seconds from Abdurazzakov netting the Uzbek’s third.
But the UAE dominated the third period and after skipper Ali Hassan Karim struck shortly after the restart with his fourth of the campaign following his hat-trick in Monday’s 7-5 victory over Iraq, Haitham Mohammad atoned for his earlier error, with his strike on the half-hour mark making it 4-3 to the UAE.
Ali Mohamed extended the UAE’s lead to 5-3 in the 31st minute but after Sarvar Kholmurodov reduced the deficit just seconds later, Irismetov struck twice in the 33rd minute to complete the come-from-behind win.
LAOS 3-8 OMAN
Oman thrashed Laos 8-3, in stark difference to their opening 3-2 win over Bahrain, with Yahya Mabyoua Al Araimi scoring Oman’s opening goal as early as the second minute.
The Omanis duly charged further ahead with Al Araimi again providing the impetus by doubling his tally on 15 minutes. Abdullah Masoud Salim (18th), skipper Hani Al Dhabat Faraj Bait Al Noobi (20th) and Ghaith Abdullah Sebeit (23rd) added to the lead, before Laos captain Tona Bounmalay aided the Omani cause by scoring a own goal on 23 minutes.
Laos scored twice courtesy of Nanthaly Savatdy’s double (29th, 30th), but Mandhar Hilal Hamed Al Araimi's late penalty kick and an even later strike from Sebeit saw Oman romp past the finishing line.
The win gave Oman six points in Group A and put them at the top of the table going into their showdown against the hosts, Qatar, on Wednesday. Laos will face Bahrain on the same day.
KUWAIT 3-4 CHINA
Kuwait’s chances of a place in the quarter-finals of the 2015 AFC Beach Soccer Championship ended after Cai Weiming’s 33rd minute strike gave China a 4-3 win and consigned the Gulf nation to their second Group B defeat following Monday’s 5-3 loss to Japan.
Wan Chao opened the scoring in the second minute but Kuwait hit back almost immediately through Mohammad Bu-Abbas, who also scored in the second minute Kuwait’s defeat by the Japanese, as the two sides ended the first period on an even keel.
Ali Al Saif, another of Kuwait’s three scorers in their Group B opener, made it 2-1 in favour of the Gulf side only for two goals within the space of a minute from Liu Yisi (24th) and Cai (25th) to give China the upper hand.
Mohammed Hajeyah levelled the match in the 31st minute but an evenly-fought contest would be settled two minutes later when Cai scored his second and China’s fourth, putting the East Asians on course for a place in the last eight.
JAPAN 3-2 VIETNAM
Japan set up a top-of-the-table clash with China on Wednesday following a 3-2 victory over a spirited Vietnam side, a result which confirmed the East Asian duos’ place in the last eight of the AFC Asian Beach Soccer Championship following China’s 4-3 win over Kuwait in the earlier Group B fixture.
Ozu Moreira and Takasuke Goto, who accounted for Japan’s goals in Monday’s 5-3 victory over Kuwait, were on target in the second and fourth minute respectively as the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup ever-presents threatened to run riot against a Vietnamese side that were narrowly defeated on penalties by China in their Group B opener.
Japan struck for a third time in the first period but Takuya Akaguma’s 11th minute goal would be the last time that the Vietnamese defence would be breached as the South East Asian made the two-time continental champions work hard for the three points that took them top of the table.
After a goalless second period Le Ngoc Phuoc gave Vietnam hope when he pulled one back in the 27th minute before a Tran Vinh Phong strike three minutes later ensured a nervous finish for Japan.
BAHRAIN 6-1 QATAR
Qatar crashed to their second straight defeat as the 2015 AFC Championship hosts were hammered 6-1 to a Bahrain side that have thrust themselves back into contention of a place in the last eight following Monday’s 3-2 defeat by Group A leaders Oman.
Abdulla Abdullatif Al Abdulla scored his second of the campaign having found the net in the loss to Oman with the only goal of the first period before his sixth-minute opener was supplemented by the first of three from Rashed Jamal (17th) and Jasim Rashed Mubarak (24th) as Bahrain took a 3-0 lead into the third and final period.
Qatar’s hopes of a comeback begin to diminish just one minute into the third period when Rashed Jamal scored his second before Abdulla Abdullatif Al Abdulla also bagged his brace as Bahrain extended their advantage to 5-0 in the 29th minute.
Jafal Al Kuwari fired home a spectacular consolation for the hosts on the half-hour mark but it was Bahrain that would have the final say in the scoring stakes when Rashed Jamal completed his hat-trick with the sixth goal for a Bahrain side that will go head-to-head with Laos on Wednesday to see who joins Oman in the quarter-finals.
Qatar, meanwhile, will be playing for pride in their final match when they take on the Omanis, who will be out to ensure they finish top of the table that would see them face, on paper at least, the weaker of the Group B quarter-finalists.
THAILAND 2-3 LEBANON
Lebanon picked up their first points of the 2015 AFC Beach Soccer Championship as the Cedars bounced back from a narrow defeat to Iran in the Group D opener with a 3-2 overtime win over Thailand.
The game got off to a flying start with three goals inside the first two minutes with Haitham Fattal scoring twice for Lebanon either side of Komkrit Nanan’s leveler for the Thais.
Komkrit came to Thailand’s rescue for the second time in the match when he equalized in the 18th minute with the goal that would ultimately force overtime with neither side able to make the most of the chances they created during the remainder of regulation time.
And just as they were at the start of the match, Lebanon were quickest out of the blocks in overtime, with skipper Mohamad Halawi scoring the decisive goal one minute into additional time to give the men from the Middle East the victory.
Lebanon’s two points ensured that Iran will take their place in the last eight, while a regulation time defeat for Asia’s highest-ranked side, who sit 7th in the global beach soccer standings, will see Thailand usurp Lebanon for the other quarter-final ticket from Group D.
Photo: beachsoccer.com