Qatar show their class, set for Iraq decider
Doha: Qatar opened their campaign in group C of the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers with a 2-0 victory against Lebanon at Grand Hamad Stadium in Doha on Monday.
Hisham Ali scored the goals for Qatar, both of which came in the dying moments of the first half.
Lebanon were the better side after the first 15 minutes of the first half, looking more dangerous with their attacks, but a double from Hisham Ali gave Qatar a 2-0 lead and equally importantly, the confidence and rhythm which they were lacking until that point.
Qatar took the lead after a mistake from Lebanon goalkeeper Antoine AlDouaihy, who failed to collect a cross from Hussein Fahes on the right.
The ball fell invitingly for Hisham who made no mistake with his shot.
A minute later Hisham doubled Qatar’s lead after a lightning counter-attack.
Shocked by the reversal, Lebanon had committed too many players for a free-kick inside the Qatar area.
But Qatar captain Fahes headed clear the ball, Hisham picked it up and found the speedy Abdul Rasheed who surged on the right before squaring it into the area where Hisham was left with the simple task of slotting the ball into the empty net.
Ahead by two goals, Qatar looked more dangerous in the second half with plenty of chances coming their way.
But poor finishing from the Qatari attackers and some desperate goalkeeping by Lebanon custodian Al Douaihy made sure the scoreline remained the same.
Qatar now take on Iraq on Wednesday to decide the group winners.
Iraq are also on three points after their 2-0 victory against Lebanon on Saturday.
Jalal Radwan: Lebanon head coach
After a strong match against Iraq, we played very well. This is the true performance of Lebanon. I’m very satisfied with the performance. The timing of the goals was crucial. Lebanon were better, but Qatar scored. We had good performance and movements.
Bruno Miguel: Qatar head coach
It was a tough game as expected. I think we did well. The first half was very hard, we scored twice, the second half we were better though we didn’t score. It was the first game for us so we took a while to get going. We needed some time to get used to the competition while it was the second game for Lebanon. I think the second half, we played much better. (About the Iraq match) We play always to win. Our ambition is to always win the game."
Photos: AFC
Source: the-afc.com
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