Saoud goal rescues point for Qatar

Qatar pulled off a creditable 1-1 draw in the opening match of the GCC Olympic Team’s Cup (under-23) tournament at Aspire yesterday.An 8Oth minute strike by Saoud al-Khalaqi helped Qatar restore parity after the UAE had taken the lead in the 17th minute.Qatar, who are largely fielding a team of under-19 players in the tournament, took time to settle down against the UAE who dominated ball possession in the first half of play.The Emiratis ran the Qatari defence close on several occasions and found the target in the 17th minute when Mohyen Khalifa displayed tremendous speed after receiving the ball following a series of passes to score. Khalifa was left unmarked and after advancing well within the penalty area cracked a left-foot shot that comprehensively beat the Qatar goalkeeper.Qatar pressed hard for the equaliser in the first half, and almost found it but Hilal Mohamed shot straight to the UAE goalkeeper’s body from point-blank range.The second half was evenly contested and just when it appeared that UAE would run away with the match, Qatar struck through al-Khalaqi to earn one point.The second match of the day between Saudi Arabia and Oman also ended in a 1-1 draw.Qatar will next play Kuwait at Aspire on Wednesday.