Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tashkent: A last-gasp equaliser from Maksadbek Alimov helped Kyrgyzstan secure an enthralling 4-4 draw with Lebanon in their Group A opener of the AFC Futsal Championship on Wednesday.
The Central Asians went in front within three minutes at Uzbekistan Stadium through Ruslan Ermekov before Ulanbek Baigazy added a fortuitous second midway through the first half.
Mohamad Kobeissy and Ali Tneich scored early in the second half to draw Lebanon level before Alimov restored Kyrgyzstan’s advantage shortly after.
Hassan Zeitoun and Kobeissy’s second of the afternoon then put Lebanon in front for the first time, but Alimov capitalised on an Ahmad Kheireldine error at the death to level the scores.
“It wasn’t the best we can play, we can do better. We missed lots of chances but so did Lebanon,” said Kyrgyzstan coach Andrey Polkhovskiy.
“We played from the back in the first half, but in the second period we pressed more, so we saw the two different styles of Kyrgyzstan.
“Maybe we earned a point because we equalised at the end, but we tried to win the game so I’m not satisfied with the result.”
Kyrgyzstan broke the deadlock in the third minute when Ermekov intercepted Kheireldine’s corner from the left to race through on goal and slot under Lebanon stopper Hussein Hamdani.
Polkhovskiy’s side then doubled their advantage in the ninth minute when Zeitoun’s shot midway inside the Kyrgyzstan half was blocked by a diving in Baigazy and looped over the stranded Hamdani.
Lebanon almost pulled one back five minutes before the interval when Ali El Homsi found Kobeissy on the right side, but his effort was parried wide by goalkeeper Kirill Ermolov.
And the Cedars did get on the scoresheet three minutes after the restart when Karim Abouzeid’s cross from the left was powerfully drilled home by Kobeissy from just outside the right side of the box.
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A minute later Francisco Araujo’s side equalised through a Tneich’s free-kick only for Kyrgyzstan to go back in front in the 25th minute when Alimov fired under Hamdani.
Lebanon again levelled things up in the 28th minute through Zeitoun in the 28th minute after good work from El Homsi and Kassem Koussan before Kobeissy tapped home his brace in the 32nd minute as the West Asians took the lead for the first time.
But in the last second Kheileldine lost possession just outside the Lebanon penalty area to present Alimov with a golden chance that he took to spark jubilation on the Kyrgyzstan bench.
“We played very differently in both halves; we were cold and slow in the first half,” said Araujo.
“But in the second half we played very well and dominated; we controlled the match and scored but in the end the luck was against us.
“We conceded two unlucky goals … in my 25 years in futsal I have never seen such goals.”