(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Oman's hopes of a winning start to its campaign in the AFC U16 Championship qualifying tournament were dashed by hosts Kyrgyzstan as it settled for a 3-3 draw in its Group F opener at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek on Wednesday.
An 89th-minute goal from Kyrgyzstan's skipper Aidar helped the hosts share the spoils after Oman rallied from a goal down to hold a 3-2 lead.
Yazeed al Siyabi scored twice in each half and Salah al Yahyai was the other scorer for Oman.Forward Siyabi opened the scoring in the tenth minute after receiving a cross from Yahyai. Oman held on to the 1-0 lead till the hosts equalised in the 31st minute through midfielder Almaz.
Kyrgyzstan then went 2-1 up four minutes later as midfielder Ernist found the net.
Oman got back into the game in the 72nd minute when Yahyai scored his team's second goal to draw level. Siyabi then scored for the second time in the match with a 76th-minute effort to put his team ahead. And just when it seemed Oman might hold on for a win, Aidar scored with a minute left for the final whistle.
Kyrgyzstan next plays Qatar on Sunday before Oman plays Qatar in its concluding game on Tuesday. The top finisher from each of the ten groups will qualify for the main event in 2014 in Thailand, along with the five best runners-up from the Bishkek event.
Oman's coach Yaqoob al Sabahi said after the match, ''We didn't do well in the first half and were down by two goals. Only the first ten minutes of the first half was praiseworthy. We made a few changes in the second half, and the result showed as we played better.
''The players were stunned as Kyrgyzstan scored the third goal in the dying moments. The qualifiers have now become tougher and we hope to put up a better show against Qatar.''
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