The Hindu : Sport / Football : Late goals seal Kuwait's fate

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 24, 2004

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Sport - Football

Late goals seal Kuwait's fate

JINAN (CHINA), JULY 23. Khaled Sa'ed and Anas Al Zboun scored in the final two minutes to help Jordan beat Kuwait 2-0 in the Asian Cup football here on Friday.

In the 90th minute of the Group B match, a powerful shot by forward Hassouneh Qasem hit both posts of Kuwait's goal before bouncing into the path of an onrushing Sa'ed who knocked it into the net.

Seconds later, Qasem again passed the ball to the right to substitute Al Zboun, who tapped it into the goal past 'keeper Shehab Kankone as Kuwait's disbelieving players threw up their arms in despair.

The goals came despite the fact that Jordan had been reduced to 10 men from the 58th minute, when defender Al Shamamari was sent off for tripping Kuwait's Bashar Abdullah Abdulaziz, who was in a scoring position.

``We were able to score twice in the last minutes,'' said Jordan's Egyptian coach Mahmoud el-Gohary. ``The physical fitness of the Jordanian players was a major element in compensating for the red card.''

Jordan now leads Group B with four points. ahead of the final round of matches on Tuesday, in which Jordan plays the United Arab Emirates in Beijing and South Korea meets Kuwait in Jinan.

During a see-saw match, neither side managed to establish dominance, with Jordan mostly on the attack but unable to overcome Kuwait's midfield.

The Jordanians had their first opportunity three minutes into the first half when striker Moayed Salim beat two defenders in the penalty box, only to see his powerful effort from an angle blocked by goalkeeper Shehab Kankone.

In the 16th minute, Kuwait's forward Bader Al Mutawa outran his marker on a breakaway, but was denied by Jordan's 'keeper Amer Shafi who sprinted off his line and snatched the ball at the edge of the area.

Jordan struck back, with Qosai Abu Alieh's header from the right side sailing past the post in the 21st minute.

On a swift Kuwaiti counterattack seconds later, al-Saifi was yellow carded when he again rushed out to foul Al Mutawa outside the box.

Just seconds before the end of first half, Kuwait's Mesaed Al-Enzi almost scored an own goal when he attempted to clear a ball turned back by Jordan's forward Faisal Ibrahim, but his powerful low shot ended up in Kankone's arms. — AP

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