UAE holds North Korea to draw
North Korea’s Jong Tae Se (R) vies with Albalooshi Walid of the United Arab Emirates during their Asian Cup Group D match in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.SD-Agencies
THE United Arab Emirates (UAE) restored some pride to the Gulf teams Tuesday by holding North Korea to a 0-0 draw in its opening Group D match of the Asian Cup.
North Korea, which qualified for last year’s World Cup, should have taken the lead in the sixth minute but captain Hong Yong Jo hit the bar with a penalty after Hamdan Al Kamali pushed Jong Tae Se inside the box.
After that reprieve, UAE dominated and missed at least half a dozen chances in the first half alone.
“If Korea had scored off that penalty maybe it would have been different, but my team regrouped after that and took complete control,” UAE coach Srecko Katanec said. “We will now have to hope the players recover and get ready for the next two games, which are very difficult ones.”
North Korea goalkeeper Ri Myong Guk saved a volley from UAE striker Esmail Matar and watched another shot go over the bar. Ri also stopped a shot from Ahmad Khaleel.
In the second half, Matar’s attempt from about 40 meters missed and Ri then came up with two solid saves late in the match, the second from substitute Saeed Al Kathiri’s header.
“I’m satisfied with the way we played because my team showed good character and skill,” Katanec said. “Unfortunately we couldn’t score from the chances we created and this is a problem. We did all the other things and I’m very, very satisfied.”
North Korea coach Jo Tong Sop said his side became nervous after missing that early penalty.
“We were organized and had the penalty in the first half, but failed and after that they were tensed. My players felt the effect of the missed penalty and didn’t play well,” Jo said. “They have some individually skilled players while we rely on our team and their physical fitness, but for this match they lacked that and did not do well.”
North Korea still has group matches against Iran and Iraq.
Of the other Gulf teams, host Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain all lost their opening games at the Asian Cup.
In another match, three-time champion Iran stormed back from the shock of losing an early goal to grab a 2-1 victory over archrival and holder Iraq on Tuesday.
(SD-Agencies)
Source:大运官网 | Editer:王佳