(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Despite their relentless attacks on the Bolivian defence, Alberto Zaccheroni's UAE never managed to find the target as the gritty South Americans came away with a goalless draw in the international friendly at the Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium on Friday.
The home team truly deserved a victory against the world's 59th-ranked team, but in the end they had to be content with a draw.
Zaccheroni could not have been happier with his midfielders who simply bossed the centre of the park against a Bolivian team that has the experience of playing high voltage games against Brazil and Argentina in the grueling South American World Cup qualifiers.
After having overcome the early jitters, the home team found their rhythm as they passed the ball with ease and made some devastating runs at the Bolivian box.
Any other day, they could have scored a few in the first 45 minutes. But on Friday evening, they ran into an inspired Bolivian goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra.
The Oriente Petrolero goalkeeper's smart reflexes thwarted Ameri Abdulrahman's effort to score from a lovely volley in the 15th minute.
The impressive Ismail Salem Al Hammadi made a darting run in the 22nd minute only to miss the target with his right-footer from outside the box.
Such was UAE's dominance that Cesar Farias' men were happy to sit back and wait for their opportunities to launch counter-attacks.
They eventually made one in the 25th minute, but Jose Sagredo's shot flew over the crossbar.
The 25-year-old Viscarra again came to the visitors' rescue with another smart piece of work in the 37th minute.
Saif Rashed Naser found a lot of space on the right side of the box, but his right-footer was brilliantly handled by Viscarra's own right foot as the home team failed to take advantage of the resulting corner. Then on the stroke of half time, UAE captain Fares Juma Hasan Al Saadi sent his header wide from a corner.
The second half also saw UAE in the driver's seat as they continued to enjoy the lion's share of possession. Their intricate passing gave the Bolivians plenty of trouble. But luckily for the South Americans, their goalkeeper Viscarra once again showed his class in what was only his second match in Bolivian colours.
In the 58th minute, Viscarra's stunning save denied Ali Ahmed Makhbout, frustrating the team's Italian coach in the dugout.
That remained the only shot on target in what was another 45 minutes of UAE dominance.
UAE will now take on Yemen in their next international friendly at the Al Wasl Stadium on November 20. Zaccheroni will hope to find the solutions in that game as he faces a race against time to get the team in best possible shape for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup on home soil.
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