Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Amman: Saudi Arabia maintained their perfect record in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 qualifiers after goals in each half by Osama Hawsawi and Nassir Al Shamrani gave them a 2-0 win over Iraq at the Amman International Stadium on Tuesday.
Hawsawi turned the ball in from close range after 34 minutes and Al Shamrani headed home 11 minutes from time as the three-time Asian Cup winners remained firmly on course for the finals in Australia after they opened up a five-point gap over second-placed China at the top of Group C.
“I thank all the players for their impressive performance today as the win was really important to get us closer to qualifying for the Asian Cup and it added a lot of us as our position now is good and hopefully we can continue to be at the top of the group,” said Saudi Arabia coach Juan Lopez Caro.
“The win will give us a big push and I believe it will be a good indication for our fans that we are capable of winning big matches. The conditions of the game helped us today and we managed to take advantage of the two chances that we had.”
Needing a win to keep the pressure on the Saudis after picking up only three points from their first two games, Iraq made a good start to the match but failed to make their most of their early opportunities.
It was the Saudis who created the first real opening after 12 minutes when Salem Al Dawsari made a fine run before launching a powerful shot that Iraq goalkeeper Mohammed Hameed turned aside for a corner.
Iraq captain Younis Mahmoud netted the winner when the two sides met in the 2007 Asian Cup final but he failed to open the scoring in the 31st minute when he chased down a long ball from defence and was left with only goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah to beat but put his effort against the left upright.
The Iraqis would rue that miss even more when the Saudis went ahead three minutes later. Hassan Fallatah’s free-kick from the left was tipped by Hameed against his crossbar but Ahmed Asiri headed the ball back across goal to Hawsawi, who easily tapped in from close range.
Iraq could have got back on level terms in stoppage time at the end of the first half but Mahmoud’s powerful long-range effort shaved the right post.
The Iraqis continued to be frustrated by the Saudi defence in the second half and as their desperation increased, they conceded again in the 79th minute after they were caught on a quick counter-attack.
Mustafa Al Bassas sent substitute Fhad Al Muwallad clear down the right and the Al Ittihad player sent in a measured cross which was easily headed home by Al Shamrani.
“We were unlucky today as we missed a lot of chances including the clear chance for Younis Mahmoud when it was still 0-0. That was the turning point in the game as Saudi Arabia took the lead soon afterwards,” said Iraq coach Hakeem Shaker.
“I really apologise to our fans who supported us but I promise them that we will never give up and we will try our best to get one of the two tickets to the Asian Cup. The good thing is that the draw in the other match today between China and Indonesia was favourable for us.”
Photo: AFP