Asian Cup 2015: United Arab Emirates and Iraq meet in Newcastle for third place play-off
UNITED Arab Emirates have grabbed third place at the Asian Cup but only after repelling a gallant 10-man Iraq to secure a 3-2 win at Hunter Stadium.
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UNITED Arab Emirates have grabbed third place at the Asian Cup but only after repelling a gallant 10-man Iraq to secure a 3-2 win at Hunter Stadium.
Two goals from Ahmed Khalil and a penalty from the tournament’s leading goalscorer Ali Mabkhout proved just enough to see off Iraq who played the last 35 minutes with 10 men after Ahmed Ibrahim was sent off for a professional foul.
Iraq certainly deserved better after showing most of the attacking intent for the 90 minutes but UAE had the class and composure at vital stages.
Khalil and UAE dominated early in front of 12,829 fans and he had a great chance inside the first 10 minutes but couldn’t put the header on target.
He made up for that in the 16th minute when Mabkhout stole possession at halfway and slipped a ball to Omar Abdulrahman who took it in his stride before slipping a perfectly weighted pass to Khalil who duly beat the onrushing Mohammed Hameed in the Iraq goal.
Just three minutes later, Iraq nearly had the equaliser when Younus Mahmood’s deflected shot hit the crossbar before his follow-up chip was tipped over by Khalid Eisa in the UAE goal.
The game had turned and Iraq dominated the rest of the first half, scoring first through Waleed Salim, who blasted straight through Eisa to level the scores on 28 minutes, before UAE were made to pay for a silly challenge by Abdulrahman just before the break.
Iraq moved the ball quickly from the free-kick and, when Eisa spilled a long-range shot from Mahdi Kamil Shiltagh, Amjed Kalaf Al-Muntafik was there to tap in and give Iraq a 2-1 lead at halftime.
Iraq started the second half as they finished the first and threatened the UAE goal - until, against the run of play, Khalil scored his second.
The UAE striker sprung the Iraq offside trap by turning his defender and latching onto the ball from Abdulrahman before rounding Hameed to level at 2-2.
That was the beginning of the end for the Lions of Mesopotamia and, when Mabkhout was played into the box - one-on-one with Hameed - he was bundled over from behind by Ibrahim.
Bahrainian referee Nawaf Shukralla was left no choice but to award the penalty and show the defender the red card.
Mabkhout duly converted.
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Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: United Arab Emirates and Iraq meet in Newcastle for third place play-off
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