Bahrain top group after goalless draw with Qatar

Qatar’s Hassan al-Haydous  (L) fights for the ball with Bahrain’s Sami al-Hussaini during their 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualifying match in Doha . The match ended in a goalless draw.

By Sports Reporter/DohaQatar and Bahrain played out a goalless draw in their inconsequential Asian Cup qualifier in Doha yesterday.Both teams having already qualified for next year’s tournament in Australia, Qatar were keen to beat Bahrain and top Group D, but the draw ensured that Bahrain walked away with the honours with 13 points from five matches. Qatar finished with 12.“It was an interesting match where the first and second half were very different from one another. First 10 minutes of the first half, Qatar played very well and were very strong. However, after that, Bahrain began dominating,” Bahrain coach Anthony Hudson said.“We lost two important opportunities in the first match. As for the second half, Qatar team was still strong, but we managed to maintain a draw despite having lost our captain due to a muscle cramp.”He added: “I’m happy with the result because we have already qualified from previous rounds. This is the first time that we qualify as the leaders of the group. Our preparation plan during the summer will include playing several strong friendly matches and conducting training camps to prepare our young players for the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015.”Qatar coach Fahad Thani was not happy with the result though he was pleased with the performance of the team.“First of all, congratulations to the Bahrain team. We played very well today and I’m pleased with the overall performance of the players, however, not pleased with the match result. First half was not as I expected, but the second half was better for us as we had more opportunities and chances to score,” he said.“We didn’t seize the opportunities to score and take advantage of the strong chances that we had unfortunately. We have already qualified from previous rounds, but our objective today was take the lead in the group.”In Amman, Thaer Bawab scored twice before being sent-off as Australia-bound Jordan rounded off their successful AFC Asian Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-1 win over Syria at Amman International Stadium.Two-time quarter-finalists Jordan had already confirmed their third AFC Asian Cup appearance after advancing from Group A with a game to spare following February’s 3-1 win over Singapore, while Syria needed to win to keep their slim qualification hopes alive.And despite Syria’s Omar Kharbin netting with 10 minutes remaining in the final Group A contest of the campaign after goalscorer Bawab had been dismissed, Hossam Hassan’s side were able to complete their unbeaten record alongside fellow qualifiers Oman. “We had to win today because we wanted to give our fans something to celebrate after securing our qualification in the previous round. I asked our players to concentrate and we managed to have a good match although we missed several scoring chances,” said Jordan coach Hassan.