Uzbekistan 1-1 UAE: The Whites head to Asian Cup with unbeaten record in tact

Martyn Thomas 18:46 05/03/2014
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  • A moment of magic from Ismail Al Hammadi was not enough to maintain the UAE’s perfect Asian Cup qualifying record as a late Igor Sergeev header earned a 1-1 draw in Tashkent.

    Mahdi Ali had urged his side to finish their Group E campaign with a win but it was not until substitute Al Hammadi produced a goal of the highest order with 23 minutes left.

    The UAE had struggled to impose themselves prior to the Al Ahli winger’s intervention but afterwards they were a team reborn and could have stretched their led had Ahmed Khalil not struck the upright.

    But with less than 10 minutes remaining they were pegged back as Sergeev earned his side a well deserved draw.

    The hosts were reduced to 10 men just before the end as defender Islom Tuhtahujaev received two bookings in quick succession.

    The result means the UAE finish their Group E campaign unbeaten, and with five wins from six will be one of the teams to miss at the draw for the finals in Sydney on March 26.

    Mahdi will head to Australia buoyed by the reaction of Al Hammadi, one of his senior players, and a promising cameo from Mohamed Abdulrahman but his experiment with Ahmed Khamis failed as the Sharjah man was booked just 45 minutes into his international debut.

    Uzbek coach Mirjalol Qosimov had bemoaned the state of the Bunyodkor Stadium pitch but it was his side that settled on the bobbly surface quickest.

    Sanjar Tursunov had an early chance to open the scoring before his cut-back was cut-out by Ismail Ahmed.

    Sergeev then fizzed a shot from the edge of the box just past keeper Ali Khaseif’s left-hand post as the Uzbek pressure showed no sign of relenting.

    Server Djeparov should have done better in the 30th minute as he headed Odil Ahmedov’s cross over from eight yards, having given his marker the slip.

    The Uzbekistan captain then sent over a wicked delivery from a free-kick on the right that Sergeev could only head straight at Khaseif.

    If the game turned with the introduction of Al Hammadi at the break then it wasn’t immediately obvious as the hosts continued to press in the opening stages of the half.

    Indeed Ahmed survived a second Uzbek penalty appeal as the ball ricocheted behind for a corner off his shoulder. But Al Hammadi’s arrival did ensure the UAE posed their opponents a threat on the break, and the winger gave the Uzbek defence a warning as he almost set Ali Mabkhout free just after the hour.

    The visitors were looking increasingly dangerous and when the goal eventually came it was well worth the wait.

    Al Hammadi was in the right place at the right time to collect Mabkhout’s deflected shot on the edge of the area but everything that followed owed itself to the Al Ahli man’s skill.

    The winger turned in one movement to expertly roll Vitaliy Denisov before keeping his cool to curl the ball past the Uzbek keeper.

    It may have been unexpected but the goal gave the UAE a lift and within minutes Ahmed Khalil had been denied only by a desperate block from Tuhtahujaev.

    With just 10 minutes to go and with Uzbekistan’s attacks becoming more and more frequent, the Al Ahli striker had the chance to double his side’s lead only to see his shot come back off the post.

    Mabkhout saw his follow-up excellently saved before he was rightly pulled up by the referee for diving.

    Khalil would then have a 20-yard free-kick tipped onto the bar, and the UAE would be made to pay for their profligacy as Sergeev met Nurmatov’s cross with an excellent header to draw the hosts level.

    Uzbekistan were reduced to 10 men before the end as Tuhtahujaev was shown a second yellow card, for a foul on substitute Salem Saleh.

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