11/19/2008
the-afc.com

DUBAI – A late equaliser from captain Karim Bagheri earned Iran a 1-1 draw with United Arab Emirates in Wednesday’s 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

UAE dominated the contest and opened the scoring through captain Abdulraheem Jumaa after 19 minutes.
But after the home side wasted a string of chances to extend their lead after finding Iran goalkeeper Seyed Rahmati in inspirational form, Bagheri earned his side a share of the spoils with just 10 minutes remaining of the Group B encounter.

Unbeaten Iran moved onto five points from three games, while UAE picked up their first point after suffering three straight defeats.

Ismail Al Hammadi fired over after just three minutes as UAE made a strong start to the contest and were rewarded as Jumaa played a neat one-two with Ismaeil Matar before firing past Iran goalkeeper Rahmati to open the scoring.

UAE continued to press and should have added a second 13 minutes before the break as Nawaf Mubarak saw a well-struck long range free-kick turned away by Rahmati.

Mubarak had another chance just before the break as he shot over before Rahmati kept his side in the contest with another crucial save from Al Hammadi’s strike from inside the area.

UAE again came close to a second five minutes after the restart as Mohamed Al Shehhi found Matar who looked to curl the ball past Rahmati, but again the custodian came up with the save.

The home side continued to press for a second as Mubarak fired a powerful volley just over the crossbar, while at the other end Iran’s Masoud Shojaei had his side’s first real chance with 14 minutes remaining as he forced UAE goalkeeper Majed Nasser to tip his free-kick over.

UAE should have sealed the three points two minutes later as Matar brilliantly picked out substitute Ahmed Khaleel, but the AFC U-19 Championship MVP and top scorer saw his shot saved by Rahmati.

And with 10 minutes left on the clock UAE were made to pay as Bagheri headed Shojaei’s cross past Nasser.

DUBAI – Iran coach Ali Daei saluted his side after they earned a point from a battling 1-1 draw against last-placed United Arab Emirates in a Group B clash on Wednesday.

UAE took the lead through captain Abdulraheem Jumaa and dominated proceedings, creating numerous chances only to be denied by goalkeeper Seyed Mehdi Rahmati.

The Iranians took full advantage of Rahmati’s heroics with Karim Bagheri equalising in the 81st minute to give the visitors a share of the points.

The draw takes Iran’s tally in their World Cup qualifying group to five points, two behind leaders Korea Republic after their 2-0 win in Saudi Arabia.

“This is the best I have seen UAE play for a long time,” said Daei.

“Many other teams would have lost to the UAE tonight. So I am proud of my team and the way they fought to get a point.

“We started very badly and played a poor first half. It is the worst I have seen this team play. We gifted the ball to them.

“In the second half, we were a lot better and created plenty of chances. We put pressure on them and eventually got the equaliser.

“But I was not happy with the refereeing. We were denied two clear penalties.”

The draw leaves UAE with just one point from four games in the final round of Asian qualifying and with virtually no hope of clinching one of the two direct berths to South Africa from Group B.

“We still have a chance mathematically,” said coach Dominique Bathenay. “But we don’t really have much hope now.

“This match was our last chance and we gave it our best, but unfortunately it was not good enough.

“We created a number of chances, but could not convert them and that proved costly in the final analysis.”