Tashkent: The UAE breathed life into their AFC U23 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2022 Group D campaign after beating Tajikistan 2-0 yesterday.
Abdelaziz Mohamed opened the scoring with his 12th minute strike, with the UAE weathering a Tajikistan fightback in the second half before substitute Mansoor Saeed converted a penalty in the 78th minute to seal the points.
The win means UAE will advance to the knockout stage if they defeat Saudi Arabia in their final match while Tajikistan will play for pride against 2016 champions Japan, who are also still in the running for the quarter-finals.
Both teams desperately needed a win following opening day defeats to Saudi Arabia and Japan respectively, but the match got off to a cagey start at the Lokomotiv Stadium.
UAE slowly gained momentum with Saeed Al Kaabi coming close twice, but was unable to get a header then a strike from close range on target.
Al Kaabi, however, then made up for his earlier misses when his neat exchange of passes with Mohamed saw the latter beating goalkeeper Shohrukh Qirghizboev to give UAE the lead in the 12th minute.
The Tajikistan backline came under pressure again in the 20th minute when a failed clearance saw Mohammed pouncing on the loose ball, but his strike missed the upright by mere inches.
Tajikistan, to their credit, kept pushing forward with their first real chance coming in the 23rd minute, but UAE keeper Suhail Abdulla was on point to deny Islom Zairov’s curling free-kick.
Offside
UAE continued to have the lion’s share of possession, but Tajikistan’s compact defence kept the game at 1-0 heading into the break.
Tajikistan clearly benefited from the breather as they enjoyed a bright start to the second half with Sunatullo Ismoilov coming on to replace Muhammadali Azizboev.
The substitute thought he had equalised when he finished a free-kick taken by Zairov, only to be flagged offside.
UAE were still able to find opportunities despite the Tajik pressure, and should have doubled their lead in the 63rd minute when Ahmed Mahmoud’s lobbed pass over the defenders found a surging Al Kaabi at the far post, who unfortunately shot wide from point-blank range.
Tajikistan were relentless in their search for the equaliser, but suffered another setback in the 77th minute when Naimdzhon Ibrogimzoda fouled Saeed in the box, with the substitute neatly converting the penalty to make it 2-0 to ensure UAE stayed in the race for the knockout stage.
Meanwhile, Japan and Saudi Arabia played to a thrilling 0-0 stalemate in Group D.
Japan, who ended the match with 10 men following Shota Fujio’s sending off in the 79th minute, had the better chances at the start with Saudi Arabia finishing strongly but neither side could find the finishing touch at the Pakhtakor Stadium.
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