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UAE outclass India 3-0 in their first leg Asian qualifiers game

 

The UAE National Football Team started their march in the Asian qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with a 3-0 win over hosts India in their first leg match played tonight at Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain Club. The winners ended the first session leading 2-0 and both goals were scored off penalties.  The two teams will play their return game on July 28th in New Dalhi.

The losers played 67 minutes with two men less after their defender Debrata Roy was given marching orders after 20 minutes into the game as a result of pulling Ali Alwihaibi from his shirt inside the six yard area and his teammate the goalkeeper Subrata Paul was also shown the red card two minutes later because he committed a foul against Ismail Al Hamadi for a second penalty. Hamdan Al Kamali made no mistake when he converted the ball from the spot giving the hosts an early 1-0 lead in the 20th minute and Mohammad Al Shihhy made it 2-0 in the 23rd minute. The Indian players protested against the Qatari referee Bandar Mohammad after he awarded UAE a second penalty and sent off the Indian goalie. The match stopped for six minutes and the visitors were near to withdraw had not their coach cooled them down and asked them to continue the game.

The UAE players controlled the match from the start and their striker Ahmad Khalil was the first to find the net but his close-range shot was deflected by the custodian for a corner 14 minutes into the game. The Indians relied on defensive tactics and their front liners failed to threaten UAE's goalkeeper Ali Khusaif through the entire match.

Ahmad Khalil also lost a golden sitter five minutes after the break when the Indian substitute goalkeeper Kranjit Singh saved bravely before a defender cleared the ball away. The UAE"s Slovenian coach Katanec made his first substitute in the game bringing on Ziyab Awana  to replace Ali Al Wihabi in the 55th minute. The Indians played defensively leaving striker Sunil Chhetri alone in the front line. The UAE players continued their superiority over the visiting team giving them hard time but they lost all the chances they created inside the box. Their attempts were spoiled by the Indian substitute goalie who deprived them off a number of scoring opportunities. Ismail Al Hamadi made it 3-0 in the 82nd minute to finish the game with a 3-0 victory for the home team.

The UAE team will depart tomorrow from Al Ain to organize a two-day warming up camp in Dubai before leaving on Tuesday morning July 26th to New Dalhi to face their Indian counterparts on next Thursday.