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The UAE Olympic Football Team holds North Korea to a 1-1 draw

 

The UAE Olympic Football Team held North Korea to a 1-1 draw in their second leg game of the Asian Final Qualifications for the 2012 London Olympic Games played tonight at Tahnoun Bin Mohammed Stadium in Qattara, Al Ain. The home team won the first match played last Sunday in Korea by a solitary goal to collect four points in aggregate that helped them to put an end to the Koreans' dreams and secure a berth in the third stage of the continental competition.

The Koreans were the first to find the back of the net after only 19 minutes into the encounter off a quick and organized attack. Their dangerous and dynamic striker Pak Ryong gave them the lead with a perfect header capitalizing off the ball switched from the left flank by his colleague An Bom.

 After scoring their first goal, the visitors retreated to their back area to defend their narrow lead, a situation which helped the home team to put more pressure on their defense line. But the UAE players committed a series of errors in passing and marking the Korean players. Most of their players were not in their normal technical standard and played below the par especially the midfielders who failed to control the midfield zone. They exerted more efforts to level the score but all their work went in vain due to lack of concentration. Midfielder Dhiyab Awana came close to bring the game back to the first square but his strong volley flew over the cross bar in the 25th minute. Dhiyab was substituted by Haboosh Saleh one minute later due to knee injury. Ahmad Ali also sent a rocket-like shot but it was saved brilliantly by the Korean goalie in the 29th minute.

 Both squads went on demonstrating a balanced display with some virtual superiority for the hosts team. The Saudi referee Khalil Al Ghamdi awarded the UAE team a controversial penalty when substitute Haboosh Saleh tried to score but his foot hit the ground and fell down and the referee did not hesitate to point for a penalty amid severe protests by the Korean players. Defender Hamdan Al Kamali made no mistake when he converted the ball home making it 1-1 in the 34th minute. After conceding a goal the Koreans played an attacking football trying to score the second as the draw dashes their hopes, but the UAE team's defenders stood solid on their way and spoiled all their attempts to end the first session with a 1-1 result.

The two teams built a number of forays after the interval with the Korean team looked the better side. They came close to add the second goal but they failed and as time went on. Their performance was highly affected by the high degree of humidity. Both coaches made some substitutes but their players failed to add more goals despite of the bagful of chances that they have created.