Iran Scrape Through On Top – From The Stands Asian Cup – Day 11 Review
Night 11 of the Asian Cup saw a tie which would decide the top of the group for group C and also a dead rubber, played just for pride. As with the spirit of the cup so far, neither match disappointed in terms of chances created and finding a winner, with Iran ending up table toppers while Bahrain took home the three points in Sydney to take something back home with them.
Final Result: Iran 1 (Ghoochannejhad 90’ + 1) defeated UAE 0
Suncorp Stadium played host to a top of the table clash which went down to the wire, with substitute Ghoochannejhad’s goal proving the decider between the two nations. Iran came into the match resting key players like Dejagah and played a conservative brand throughout the night, happy to sit back and absurd the pressure while the UAE dominated the ball.
The tactic may have backfired, and was an especially risky one given the talent that the UAE side has, particularly in Ali Mabkhout and Omar Abdulrahman. Though plenty of chances were created first half, particularly by the Iranians on the counter attack, the score remained nil all at the break.
Second half substitutions inspired the game, which improved as it went on, yet neither goalkeeper was really tested, with poor finishing from both sides to blame. Haghighi in goals for Iran was not called upon to make a save during the entire match, UAE’s wastefulness costing them top spot in the group, with a draw enough for them to have qualified on top.
Both sides will now wait to find out their quarter final opponents, which will likely be Japan for the UAE and Iraq unless there is an upset in tomorrow’s fixtures.
Crowd: 11,394. Brisbane played host to match which had a healthy crowd, mainly of the fantastic Iran fans, who have arguably been the loudest supporters at the cup thus far after seeing their side in Melbourne and Sydney and would have been very pleased with the result tonight.
FTS Man of the match: Omar Abdulrahman. Yes, his side lost the match, but it’s impossible to look past him and recognise his brilliance on the night. He showed us not only his fabulous combination play and through balls, but also a longer passing range and deadly free kicks and was unlucky that his chances created were not finished off.
Final Result: Bahrain 2 (Shubbar 35’, Jaafar 82’) defeated Qatar 1 (Al Haydos 68’)
Elsewhere in the dead rubber of the group. Qatar hosted Bahrain at a cool and wet Stadium Australia. Unexpectedly the game turned out to be a good one, with three goals scored in front of a small and rowdy crowd.
The game started in dry conditions and, with both teams having nothing to play for, the teams weren’t afraid to attack. Unfortunately for both of them, it didn’t result in goals with the woodwork being hit multiple times early on in the first half. Remarkably for Qatar most of them came from the head of striker Muntari.
However midway through the first half, the wet weather set in and thankfully for those gathered a goal soon came through the cleverness of Shubbar who positioned himself in a good position to slide the ball into the net. The sides went in with Bahrain ahead 1-0.
Second half started as the first half began; with Qatar dominating possession and Bahrain trying to hit them on the break. So back and forth they went going close at each other’s ends. This was until a free kick was given to Qatar just outside the box. Star man for them on the night Al-Haidos took up the challenge and cleverly rolled the ball under the wall.
This sparked Bahrain into action and in particular Sayed Ahmed. The midfielder produced quite possibly the goal of the tournament managing to chip the ball over the helpless Qatari keeper.
The game then fizzled out into a 2-1 Bahrain Win. Which left Qatar with no points for the first time in their Asian Cup history.
Man of The Match: Sayed Ahmed. For the goal alone Sayed Ahmed deserves to be man of the match. The goal which he managed to chip the ball over the keeper from 25 yards out was his highlight but the midfielder was tireless throughout giving Bahrain the perfect platform for the win.
Crowd: 4,841. Although a small turnout, the people who did turn up certainly enjoyed themselves. What started out a small gathering of Bahrain fans grew towards the latter stages and provided some noise. However the crowd certainly didn’t sound like just under 5,000 when Bahrain scored their second.
Team Played Points Goal Difference
Iran 3 9 +4
UAE 3 6 +3
Bahrain 3 3 -2
Qatar 3 0 -5
Asian Cup 2015 Attendance Running Total: 360,687
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