The Hindu : Sport / Football : Easy victory for Syria

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Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007
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Easy victory for Syria

Vijay Lokapally

FOOTBALL / Defeats Kyrgyzstan 4-1

— Photo: Sandeep Saxena

MIDFIELD BATTLE: Syria’s Maher Al Sayed (right) and Djamshidov Ruslan of Kyrgyztan vie for possession of the ball.

NEW DELHI: Syria maintained its march to the final with a composed performance at the Amedkar Stadium here on Tuesday with a 4-1 victory over Kyrgyzstan in the ONGC Nehru Cup football tournament. For Kyrgyzstan, it was the first defeat in two matches.

In a match that was evenly contested in the first-half, Syria called the shots on resumption, but failed to increase the margin.

Maher Al Sayed was the key player for Syria with some outstanding support from Mohammad Alzeno, who was a terror upfront. Sayed did the spadework with his tireless running right through the contest and Syria gained from the excellent rapport these two generated at crucial stages.

Controlled aggression

Alzeno stood out with his pace and his controlled aggression meant that Syria was in the driving seat once Sayed, the Man of the Match, put the team ahead in the seventh minute. The goal came from a faulty clearance by Kyrgyzstan defender Samsaliev Talant, who headed the ball to Sayed, lurking on the top of the box.

Sayed trapped the ball and shook off a defender in a flash to score with a thundering grounder. Syria conceded a self goal within six minutes. A counter-attack left defender Ali Dyeb in a delicate situation.

Hassled by a striker, he lost his composure and attempted a desperate clearance. He only succeeded in lobbing the ball over his own goalkeeper Mowssab Blahowss.

Better possession

Syria enjoyed better possession and looked the superior outfit when Zyad Chaabo finished a brilliant run by Alzeno, who sent in a measured cross. The header by Chaabo was strong and well directed, a spectacular placement into the far corner. Kyrgyzstan caved in on resumption. Alzeno produced a brilliant solo run and put Chaabo in possession with just the goalkeeper to beat, but the latter shot weakly. Soon Alzeno decided not to leave the matters to others and his solo run culminated in a fine goal.

The tally was completed by Abrahiem Al Hasan, who slammed the rebound in after goalkeeper Kashuba Valeri had blocked a stinging drive by Alzeno.

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