MUSCAT - As hosts Oman cooled their heels
the match of the day was between Iran and Iraq in the Asian Football
Confederation’s Under-14 football festival at the Sultan Qaboos Sports
Complex in Bausher yesterday.
Kuwait’s absence from the festival meant that yesterday’s fixture for Oman
was scratched out and all the eyes were on the duel between Iran and Iraq.
Excitement was to the core in this particular match, which ultimately
resulted in Iran and Iraq sharing the spoils with a 2-2 draw.
In fact, it was Iran who went ahead in the eighth minute of the first half
when Ismail Shakouri found the target. But just a minute was lost when Osama
Mahmood equalised for Iraq.
Iran, however, went ahead again with Ismail striking in the 11th minute and
this scenario stayed until the half-time break. Meanwhile, in the second
half, Iraq drew level through a Hussan Hanash strike and the deadlock
remained intact until the end.
In an earlier match United Arab Emirates stunned Jordan 2-0 after a barren
first half.
Qaba Ateeq opened the account for UAE in the 35th minute of the second half
and with just three minutes remaining Hamdan Qassim made it 2-0. The final
match of the day turned out to be an one-sided affair with Qatar crushing
hapless Leabanon by a dozen goals (12-0). The story started with Lebanon’s
Ahmed Dirani opening the account for Qatar through a self goal and later it
was Qatar boys all the way.
For Qatar, Ali Hassan Yahya notched three goals and Khalfan Ibrahim slammed
in two off the twelve goals.
The remaining six goals were shared by Mohammed Abdul Rab, Abdullah Al Ali,
Abdullah Hassan, Abdullah Mohammed, Faisal Ali and Abdulaziz.
Today’s fixtures: UAE vs Oman (5.15pm); Iraq vs Qatar (6.30pm); Lebanon vs
Iran (7.45pm).
