uae football team put to rest a decade of hurt
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

UAE football team put to rest a decade of hurt

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice UAE football team put to rest a decade of hurt

UAE's midfielder Ali Mabkhout (right) celebrates his goal against Saudi Arabia
Abu Dhabi - Emirates Voice

A decade of hurt. That was what was put to rest in Al Ain on a muggy Tuesday night.

The Hazza bin Zayed Stadium was a furnace and the UAE, quite surprisingly, turned on the heat on Middle East behemoths Saudi Arabia, to cling on to the thinnest of threads to their World Cup dream.

The 2-1 verdict at the 'Home of UAE Football' exorcised a few demons, which had continued to haunt the Whites, over the past 10 years. The UAE were perennial strugglers against their neighbours, having come up short each and every time, until Tuesday night. They put an end to the 'jinx,' so to speak, a 'mental block' overcome on the night.

The UAE last had the sweet taste of victory against Saudi Arabia at the Gulf Cup of Nations back in 2007, eventually going on to win the competition.

Since then though, the UAE endured a poor run of seven defeats on the bounce, stretching until the World Cup qualifiers in 2015. A stalemate ensued the next time the two teams met in 2016 but it was back to square one again with a chastening 3-0 defeat in the third and current round of qualifying.

During that period, the UAE did have their chances but the Saudis always had the measure of the counterparts, which meant, it was job half done for the Whites.

The dominance of the Green Falcons was such that they had more than a large share of the pie - winning 75 per cent of their matches as against the UAE's 16.7 percent.

So, Tuesday's win was important in more ways than one.

The UAE coach Edgardo Bauza may have tapered down their chances as they still sit fourth in Group B but the former Argentina manager made an important point during his post-match comments. He spoke about the attitude shown by the players on the night, and he was right.

His men were aggressive, hungrier and went for broke. They were shorn of their talisman Omar Abdulrahman and perhaps, his absence was a blessing in disguise. With veteran Ismail Matar, wearing the captain's armband, adding those sparks of inspiration, the UAE rallied ahead, full throttle.

The Saudis are known for their physical style of play and the UAE beat them at their own game. It was a no holds barred contest and left-back Mahmoud Khamis took one for the team. After Al Jazira's frontmen Ali Ahmed Mabkhout and Ahmed Khalil had knocked in two beauties, two bookings and the red card was a small price to pay for Khamis. He and his mates at the backline - Mohanad Salem, Mohamed Fawzi and Mohamed Ahmed - had done their job in keeping the UAE out of harm's way.

And later, Omar Abdulrahman and Habib Al Fardan joined the impressive Tariq Ahmed in keeping it water tight in the middle.

The Whites still have a game to play against Iraq in Jordan, and with it, various calculations, on their road to Russia. But for now though, the UAE should savour a win that put to rest a decade of hurt.

Source: Khaleej Times

 

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

uae football team put to rest a decade of hurt uae football team put to rest a decade of hurt

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

uae football team put to rest a decade of hurt uae football team put to rest a decade of hurt

 



GMT 05:06 2024 Tuesday ,06 February

New hunt for flight MH370 gets under way

GMT 06:15 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Volkswagen clinches record sales

GMT 20:35 2014 Monday ,08 December

CFP crucial for refining industry in Kuwait

GMT 13:25 2011 Tuesday ,13 December

Latest Call Of Duty Breaks $1bn Sales Record

GMT 06:47 2017 Sunday ,12 February

Fresh whale stranding on notorious New Zealand beach

GMT 10:48 2017 Sunday ,19 November

Industry minister receives Turkish ambassador

GMT 12:35 2015 Saturday ,06 June

Bindi Irwin is all grown up in new Instagram photo

GMT 14:08 2012 Tuesday ,28 August

600 Afghan soldiers killed over last 2 months

GMT 05:27 2011 Wednesday ,21 September

Facebook revenue estimated at $4.27 billion

GMT 20:06 2017 Wednesday ,22 February

Senior Yemeni general killed in Houthi missile attack

GMT 23:18 2016 Sunday ,12 June

Daesh kills 18 civilians trying

GMT 00:47 2017 Tuesday ,10 January

6 policemen killed, 9 injured in Arish attack

GMT 21:54 2017 Thursday ,15 June

Pleasant weather forecast

GMT 16:39 2017 Thursday ,17 August

Maria Sharapova granted wild-card entry

GMT 12:33 2012 Friday ,24 February

10 signs your spouse may be planning to divorce you

GMT 17:32 2017 Tuesday ,25 July

King leading diplomacy to safeguard Jerusalem

GMT 06:58 2012 Sunday ,12 February

Malaysia deports Saudi journalist
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice