Ali on target as Qatar get off to a flying start

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula

CHANGZHOU: Feared striker Almoez Ali was on target yesterday as Qatar edged past Uzbekistan 1-0 in their opening clash of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup.
Ali, with assistance from midfielder Hashim Ali, flicked a ball from close range to score the only goal of the Group A match as Asia's premier Olympic squad tournament kicked off with much fanfare.
Ali's timely strike came in the 56th minute after both the sides failed to score in the first half at Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre where Dong-Jin Kim penalised three Qatari players with yellow cards.
Abdullah Al Ahrak (45), Mohammed Al Bakari (72) and goalkeeper Bassam Al Rawi were shown the yellow cards. Al Rawi was penalised late in the second half on account of time-wasting.
Uzbekistan's Dostonbek Khamdamov was shown the yellow card in the 29th minute.
Qatar, coached by Felix Sanchez, made two changes during the game when Abdullah Al Ahrak (72) and Ali (85) were benched in the feisty Group A encounter.
Earlier in the eighth minute, Uzbekistan's Zabikhillo Urinboev produced a right-footed shot from long range on the left flank but he missed the target following a cross from Khamdamov.
Thirteen minutes later, Qatar's star midfielder Akram Afif fired a shot from outside the box but missed the top right corner of the net after a cross by Ahmad Moein.
In the 33rd minute, Moein - on the outside of the Uzbek box - missed with his shot after a neat pass from-team mate Ali. Five minutes from the close of the first half, Qatar's Salem Al Hajri produced a right-footed shot into the Uzbekistan crossbar from outside the box.
Ten minutes into the second half, Qatar got on the scoreboard with Ali lunging forward to deflect a cross from Ali inside the Uzbek box. The ball beat Uzbekistan goalkeeper Dilshod Khamraev and crashed into the left side of the net.
Qatar, despite a series of attacks from Uzbek forwards, defended stoutly to retain their lead and to eventually pick up the first points in the 16-team tournament.
Earlier yesterday, host nation China began their AFC U23 Championship 2018 campaign in fine fashion thanks to a comfortable 3-0 win over Oman at the same venue.
Goals from Yang Liyu, Li Xiaoming and Wei Shihao proved the difference on a bitterly cold afternoon, as China laid down an impressive early marker in Group.
In what would prove to be an entertaining opening period, it was China who threatened first, Yang seeing his shot from 12 yards smothered by the visiting defence, and Beijing Guoan forward Wei forcing a smart save from Oman goalkeeper Ibrahim Al Mukhaini with 18 minutes gone.
With China in the ascendancy, Oman's defence was to be breached twice in quick succession, as first Yang expertly converted Li Shuai's pinpoint delivery on the half hour mark, and then Li Xiaoming headed home Wei's superb floated cross to double his side's advantage just four minutes later.
To their credit, Oman rallied briefly after the break, but the game was effectively ended as a contest in the 53rd minute when the impressive Wei powered home a header after being found by Yao Junsheng.
Omani defender Thani Al Rushaidi saw a close-range effort scrambled off the line by Gao Zhunyi shortly after, before Wei was stretchered off in the 66th minute following a hefty challenge much to the consternation of China head coach Massimiliano Maddaloni.
In the game's last meaningful action, substitute Liu Ruofan was expertly denied by Al Mukhaini on a day when China took a significant step towards reaching the knockout phase of the AFC U23 Championship for the first time.
Qatar next play Oman on January 12 followed by a game against hosts China on January 15. The last edition of the same tournament was a huge success when it was staged in Qatar.

‘Hero' Ali credits team work for win

Striker Almoez Ali yesterday said team work helped Qatar edge a powerful Uzbekistan side in their opening AFC U-23 Asian Cup match.

Almoez Ali's second half strike proved the difference as Qatar recorded a narrow 1-0 win over Uzbekistan at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Centrer.
'It was a tough match in which you saw good football. But I would say our team work saw us through, Ali, the goal-hero, said after the match yesterday.
'Uzbekistan are a good side so we had a strategy in mind and that is to reduce their scoring opportunities. That is why you saw there were no goals in the first half, the tall striker said.
'We planned a lot for this game. We scored in the second half and then there were more attacks from them, Ali said. 'I would say we had our boys should-to-shoulder in defense. We didn't allow any goals.
'I would say even we had opportunity to score more goals. We could have got another but they also defended well in the second half, the Qatar hero said.
'I think it feels great that we got through 1-0 than settling for a 1-1 draw. You saw the fights. It feels good. They put us under a lot of pressure but we faced them bravely, Ali said.
'We kept fighting until the last minute. That was the best part about our win, he added.

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