Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Muscat: Nasouh Nkd Hle scored his second decisive goal in as many games as Syria qualified for the quarter-finals of the AFC U-22 Championship after edging Yemen 1-0 in Group B at Royal Oman Police Stadium on Wednesday.
Their burly number nine, who also found the net in Syria’s 1-0 win over DPR Korea on Monday, got the match’s only goal with a smart header from an inviting cross by Mardek Mardikian, the Omani-based forward who made his first start of the tournament as a replacement for suspended playmaker Hamid Mido.
Although Yemen came into the fixture having lost both their previous outings they contributed a hard-working performance in a tightly contested game where chances were at a premium throughout.
Syria, meanwhile, remain undefeated in the tournament with seven points taken from their three group fixtures and now advance into the final eight alongside Group B runners-up United Arab Emirates who ground out a 0-0 stalemate against DPR Korea in the group’s other game played at Seeb Sports Complex.
“We did not perform as strongly as the in first two matches, this was due to tiredness and perhaps over-confidence,” said Syria coach Ahmad Al Shaar.
“Yemen has been improving as the tournament has progressed and they did not play with any pressure, while we had four new players making their first appearance for the team.
“We also had to make some tactical changes as a result of the suspensions and fitness concerns, but I hope we will play better in the quarter-finals.”
Showing every intention of taking an early lead, Syria’s red shirts poured forward from the very first minute with Yemen goalkeeper Marwan Besbas called into early action to tip a shot from midfielder Yousef Kalfa around his right-hand post.
It seemed like that would develop into the pattern of things to come as the Syria side continued to press forward and Yemen attempted to withstand the waves of attack and hit on the counter.
After 17 minutes the containment strategy nearly paid off as Yemen wide man Mohammed Al Sarori found forward Abdulwasea Al Matari in space only for the forward to snatch at his shot and screw it narrowly wide.
The chance on goal gave confidence to the Group B bottom side and just three minutes later Yaser Al Gabr was put through one-on-one with goalkeeper Ibrahim Alma but the Syrian custodian stood his ground and the striker fired wide.
It was a crucial miss for Yemen as Syria resumed their hold on the game and swiftly punished Al Gabr’s wastefulness.
With 25 minutes of the half gone Mardikian, who plays his domestic football with Oman side Sohar, showed some fantastic footwork on the left wing, twisting defender Ebrahim Gehamah inside-out, before clipping in a cross that found Nkd Hle lurking on the penalty spot and he headed smartly past a diving Besbas into the bottom corner.
And five minutes later only the outstretched right hand of Besbas prevented Syria doubling their advantage as the goalkeeper clawed away a powerful free-kick from Amro Jeniat that seemed destined for the top right-hand corner.
In the final first half action of note, Yemen forward Tawfik Ali thought he might have had a penalty as he took a tumble in the area with five minutes remaining, but instead he received a yellow card for simulation from unimpressed referee Mohanad Sarray.
Nkd Hle, the game’s only scorer, was withdrawn at half-time to be replaced by Samer Salem and the opening phase of the second period was marked by a lack of penetration from both sides with play either bogged down in a congested midfield battle or more often breaking down in the final third.
With Syria content to maintain their goal advantage and Yemen struggling to make headway through an organised Syrian side, it was not until 10 minutes from time before there was a chance of note as first Yemen substitute Sadam Hussein shot narrowly over from 25 yards after he created the space for himself with some neat footwork and then Al Matari went close, firing into the side netting of Alma’s goal.
And in the final minute of the game Yemen substitute Hussein again and then Syria substitute Mostafa Shih Yosef had good chances to add their names to the scoresheet but on both occasions the respective goalkeepers prevailed.
“I am very happy with the performance of my boys. You can see game to game that they are improving,” said Yemen coach Abraham Mebratu.
“We played very well and took it seriously, even though we are out of the tournament. It showed that we will have a very good team in the future. These are the boys who will replace the senior team in the future.”