Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Doha: Ali Faez and Ali Hisny scored quickfire goals at the end of the first half as defending champions Iraq made the ideal start to the AFC U23 Championship with a comfortable 2-0 win over Yemen at Suhaim Bin Hamed Stadium on Wednesday.
Centre-back Faez opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 36 minutes of the Group C opener before midfielder Hisny added a second from close range just three minutes later.
And despite Humam Tareq seeing a second half penalty saved for Iraq, who beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final of the AFC U-22 Championship two years ago, Shahad Abdulghani’s side claimed a deserved three points.
“At the beginning, as with all opening games, the match was full of tension and at the beginning we were a little tense against a Yemen opponent who are not easy opponents. But I am satisfied with the performance and most importantly we scored and we won and we got the three points as that was the objective and the target for tonight,” said Iraq coach Abdulghani.
“We played well in the second half and going for the goal, but the turning point was the missed penalty and the performance after the penalty went down. We as the technical staff also changed some of the players to allow them to rest as some of the players are not at the top level to allow them to prepare for the next matches.”
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After a tentative start which was edged by Iraq, it took until the 24th minute for the defending champions to register a effort on target as a snap shot on the turn from the edge of the penalty area by Tareq was comfortably gathered low to his right by Yemen goalkeeper Salem Al Harsh.
But Iraq were able to find the breakthrough before half-time as Faez confidently converted from the penalty spot nine minutes before the break after Aymen Hussein had been bundled over inside the area while attempting to convert a cross from Amjad Attwan Kadhim after Yemen’s Alawi Fadaaq had conceded possession.
And Iraq doubled their advantage just three minutes later as Hisny was on hand to follow up from close range after Yemen goalkeeper Al Harsh had parried Tareq’s low angled drive from the edge of the area.
The defending champions continued to dominate at the start of the second half as the lively Tareq fired straight at Al Harsh just before the hour mark before the 19-year-old was again denied by the Yemen custodian soon after, this time following a darting run into the penalty area.
And Al Harsh again got the better of Tareq seven minutes after the hour mark as the Yemen goalkeeper guessed right to save the midfielders penalty after the teenager had been fouled inside the area.
But despite the missed chance, and a stronger finish from Yemen, Iraq had done enough to claim all three points in the Group C opener.
“We played a tough match against a very difficult and strong opponent. We played well and I am satisfied with my players and their performance. They played well, but the turning point in the first half was the penalty given to Iraq which changed the whole match,” said Yemen coach Amin Al Sunaini.
“We had some chances, and two definite chances were in the second half, but we lacked the luck to score. We will try and build on this performance in the coming games from now.”
NEXT MATCHES:
January 16: Yemen v Korea Republic
January 16: Uzbekistan v Iraq