10/15/2008
the-afc.com

TASHKENT – Bahram Dabbagh, substitute Aghaj Imamighareh and Ali Heydari struck in the second half as Iran downed United Arab Emirates 3-0 on Wednesday to reach the AFC U-16 Championship final.

Iran dominated the first half of the semi-final at MHSK Stadium but failed to convert a string of chances with captain Rayam Sadeghian wasting the most clear cut chance just before the break.

But a minute before the hour mark right-back Dabbagh finally converted Iran’s dominance before Imamighareh’s thunderbolt and Heydari’s stoppage time tap-in sealed their place in Saturday’s final.

UAE finished the game with nine men as both captain Haddaf Abdulla and Mohamed Hussain were sent off in the closing stages.

On a sunny day in the Uzbekistan capital, Iran’s Omid Kharaji struck the foot of the UAE post from the edge of the area after just four minutes to signal Iran’s intentions.

UAE goalkeeper Eesa Abbas kept the scores level midway through the half as he produced a full length save to turn Mehrdad Yeganeh’s powerful rising strike over the crossbar before helping Mehrgan Golbarg’s dipping strike from the edge of the area over his bar on the half-hour mark.

The best chance of the half came five minutes before the break as Sadeghian beat the UAE offside trap, but with only Abbas to beat, pushed his shot wide of the upright from inside the area.

Following a slow start to the second period, Iran were finally rewarded a minute before the hour as Dabbagh skipped past Ahmed Mohamed’s challenge on the edge of the area and shot low across Abbas into the bottom left hand corner just out of the reach of the goalkeeper’s despairing dive.

Abbas saved a low strike from substitute Imamighareh to keep his side in the contest before Yeganeh blazed the follow up through a crowd and over the crossbar eight minutes later as Iran pressed for a second.

Defender Rashid Mohamed took his turn to keep UAE within touching distance four minutes later as he turned Sadeghian’s shot off the line after Abbas had flapped at a lofted cross and only managed to turn it into the striker’s path inside the area.

But the second came with 13 minutes remaining as Imamighareh rifled home from just outside the area past a helpless Abbas.

Abdulla was dismissed in the last minute after picking up a second yellow card and after Heydari tapped his fifth goal of the tournament in stoppage time, Hussain quickly followed as he was shown a straight red card.

Doustimehr dissatisfied despite defeating UAE

TASHKENT – Coach Ali Doustimehr knows Iran must step up their game for the AFC U-16 Championship final after seeing off United Arab Emirates in Wednesday’s semi-final.

Iran dominated the first half and created a string of clear cut chances but failed to find a way past UAE goalkeeper Eesa Abbas until right-back Bahram Dabbagh finally broke the deadlock just before the hour mark.

Substitutes Aghaj Imamighareh and Ali Heydari wrapped up the win against a UAE side who finished the game with nine men as captain Haddaf Abdulla and Mohamed Hussain were sent off in the closing stages.

But while the 3-0 score line at MHSK Stadium seems to signify a convincing win for unbeaten Iran, who have won all five games in Uzbekistan, Doustimehr was far from happy after warning his side against complacency before the game.

“This game was not suitable for a semi-final as the players did not play as I wanted them to play. The game was preparation for the final against Japan or Korea as we knew we could beat UAE,” said Doustimehr.

“We created chances in the first half, but could not score. The UAE could also have scored but we managed to score in the second half.

“We were lucky we played the UAE in the semi-final and not a stronger team. After we beat Syria the players thought it would be easy. We were lucky we did not meet a stronger team.”

Omid Kharaji struck the post, Abbas saved from Mehrdad Yeganeh and Mehrgan Golbarg before captain Rayam Sadeghian wasted the best chance of the first half as he fired wide after beating the offside trap and with only the goalkeeper to beat.

But Iran stuck to their task and were finally rewarded as Dabbagh skipped past Ahmed Mohamed’s challenge and fired past Abbas.

Abbas denied Imamighareh and defender Rashid Mohamed cleared Sadeghian’s shot off the line before the second finally came through Imamighareh’s 77th minute thunderbolt.

In a frantic finish, Abdulla was dismissed in the last minute after picking up a second yellow card and Heydari tapped home the third in stoppage time before Hussain was shown a straight red card.

“In the first half they played with eight players behind the ball which was hard to break down,” added Doustimehr.

“In the second half we looked at using the open space better and we were able to score.”

We ran out of steam, admits UAE coach

TASHKENT – United Arab Emirates simply ran out of energy in Wednesday’s AFC U-16 Championship semi-final defeat to Iran, according to coach Ali Ebrahim.

Prior to the game Ebrahim had insisted the pressure was off his UAE side, whose appearance in the semi-finals was an outstanding achievement after they beat Australia in the quarter-finals with only four hours of preparation after Yemen were denied the place in the last eight for fielding an over-aged player in the group stage.

But UAE struggled to deal with Iran who wasted a string of first half chances at MHSK Stadium before Bahram Dabbagh and substitutes Aghaj Imamighareh and Ali Heydari struck after the break to seal Iran’s place in Saturday’s final.

Sunday’s 3-2 win over Australia secured a place at the FIFA U-17 World Cup for UAE, a fact which Ebrahim conceded may have played on his side’s mind after Dabbagh rifled home the opener just before the hour mark.

“We were tired after the Australia game and this is our fifth game in 10 days which is very hard especially for players at this age,” said Ebrahim.

“We tried hard to win but we knew before the game Iran are a strong team. We planned to score in the first half as we knew Iran would press after the break.

“After they scored the first goal the players did not push to score and equalise as in their heads they knew they had already qualified for the World Cup.”

After Dabbagh’s opener, Iran always looked like they would add a second before Imamighareh’s thunderbolt with 13 minutes remaining.

Captain captain Haddaf Abdulla picked up a second yellow card with a minute remaining before Heydari tapped home the third and Mohamed Hussain was shown a straight red card as UAE finished with nine men to end a remarkable tournament on a low note.

“We need more time to prepare in the future,” added Ebrahim. “At this age the players are still at school and you can’t have them all the time, you only get a few months.

“We need to arrange tournaments and play more friendly games to give the players experience at this level.”