Qatari players celebrate one of their four goals during their GCC Under-17 Championship match against United Arab Emirates at Aspire Dome yesterday.
By Sports Reporter/Doha
After being routed by Saudi Arabia last week, Qatar made a spectacular comeback in their second and final league match to thrash the UAE 4-0 and qualify for the semi-final of the GCC Under-17 football championship at the Aspire Dome yesterday.
It was a must-win game for Qatar and a tough one too after UAE had registered a shocking 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia, while a draw was enough for UAE to go through to the last four.
But Qatar were right on the money yesterday and thanks to some individual brilliance from captain Saleh Said Bnhilali and striker Hashem Ali Abdullatif, who scored a brace each, they scripted an amazing turnaround.
In the semi-finals, scheduled for Thursday, the hosts will once again take on Saudi Arabia. All the three team finished on three points in the Group B, but UAE lost out on last four due to the goal difference.
The match was well over after Qatar scored three goals in the space of six minutes.
Bnhilali opened the goal rush in the 10th minute after he headed off a free kick from just outside the box. The celebration was minimum as Qatar player got back to their positions, knowing very well they needed to score more goals to reverse the goal difference.
And their resolve paid dividends, after Abdullatif struck twice in two minutes. Abdullatif, who had scored the lone goal in Qatar’s 1-4 defeat to Saudi, was once again in his elements. The striker beat two UAE defenders and slotted home a fierce left boost to make it 2-0.
It soon became 3-0 as Abdullatif pulled off a wonderful flick into the net. Mohamed Khyari Abudbeira and Abdulaziz Saoud Alkathori combined well to pass the ball to Abdullatif, who slotted past UAE goalkeeper.
UAE did try to make a comeback, but the Qatar defence, which was all over the place in the opening game, held fort. In the second half, Qatar came close to scoring on many occasions, but only captain Bnhilali could find the net in the 72nd minute via header from a corner.
Qatar coach Aarno Boeting was understandably pleased with win. “I think the boys played really well. There did not show any mental scars after that huge defeat to Saudi. They were positive and showed intent and that resulted in goals. There are few more things to work on before the semi-finals but we will take confidence from today’s victory and put our best foot forward,” said the Portuguese coach.
Meanwhile, Oman have entered the semi-finals from pool A after winning both their matches against Kuwait and Bahrain. The Omanis, who began their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Kuwait on Thursday, defeated Bahrain 2-0 to top the group.
The other remaining last four slot was filled by Kuwait, who edged out Bahrain 1-0 in a tight match yesterday. The semi-finals will be played on Thursday, while the all-important title clash is slated for Saturday.