Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Al Rakha: AFC U-19 Championship 2016 qualifying Group B hosts Saudi Arabia defeated Syria 4-1 to go top of the table on goal difference ahead of Yemen, who also picked up their second win of the campaign with a last-gasp 1-0 win over Turkmenistan in Sunday’s earlier fixture.
After kicking-off their quest to reach next year’s continental finals across the King Fahd Causeway with a 5-0 victory over Turkmenistan on Friday, the Saudis put themselves in a strong position for their second convincing win as goals from Fahad Al Harbi (16th), Ayman Al Khulaif (37th) and an Abdulrahman Al Yami penalty (41st) gave them a 3-0 advantage over the Syrians going into the half-time interval.
The scoreline remained unchanged until four minutes from time when skipper Mohammad Al Bassas successfully converted Saudi Arabia’s second spot-kick before Yousef Arafa scored a consolation for the Syrians two minutes later.
In Sunday’s earlier fixture Yemen also picked up their second Group B win with Mohamed Al Huthaifi’s goal with two minutes at the Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium left to play seeing Mohammed Al Nufiay’s side match the single-goal victory they picked up in their opening fixture against the Syrians.