Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Doha: Palestine lost to Jordan 3-1 in their last match in the AFC U-14 Girls’ Regional Championship for West Asia at Al Arabi Stadium in the Qatari capital on Friday.
Leen Yasin Mohammad Al Btoush rifled a volley into the top corner after receiving a right cross from Leen Ayman Mohammad Alabbadi giving Jordan the lead.
Jordan doubled their lead as Alabbadi scored with a close range header thanks to a brilliant cross from skipper Luna Mazin Yasar Sahloul just before 30 minutes.
Palestine pulled one back when Rozeen NY Odeh scored a penalty on 45 minutes but the Jordanians never gave up and restored their double lead as Al Btoush smashed the ball into the top corner, maintaining their unbeaten run.
“I promised to win this competition when we started and I am so proud to have achieved,” Jordan coach Manar Musafa Ahmad Fraij told the media.
“Winning this tournament shows we have a strong team and a strong future. I am very happy about this.”
Palestine coach Eyad Flanh is happy with the team’s performance in which they remained unbeaten until they met Jordan.
“I am very proud of what we did at this tournament,” he was quoted as saying. “We do not have very good facilities in Palestine and the country has a lot of problems.
“To come and finish second in the tournament is a great achievement. We lost to the best team in my opinion and I congratulate Jordan for their achievement. I’m very happy with the nice things people have been saying about our team.”
Palestine finished as the runners-up while Bahrain third-place winners after they thrashed Qatar 8-0 in an earlier game.
Jordan became the champions for the West which now is the second region to have finished the inaugural regional girls championship, with the first being the South and Central region whose champions are India.
The ASEAN outings in Vietnam and East tournament hosted by China are up next in June.
Final West standings:
Jordan – 12 points
Palestine – 9 points
Bahrain – 6 points
Qatar – 1 point
UAE – 1 point