UAE, Vietnam share spoils in AFC U-23 C’ship opener

The UAE kicked off their AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 campaign with a goalless draw in their Group D match against Vietnam at the Buriram Stadium on Friday.

After a quiet opening 15 minutes, Nguyen Quang Hai nearly struck first for Vietnam. The skipper caught goalkeeper Mohammed Al Shamsi off-guard with curled free-kick from the right flank, but the Emiratis breathed a sigh of relief as the ball passed inches off the outside of the post.

Halfway through the opening period, the UAE were gifted a golden opportunity to take the lead when Nguyen Thanh Chung failed to clear a cross from the right, allowing Jassim Yaqoob to pounce on the loose ball, but the winger miscued his kick sending the ball wide.

Seven minutes before the halftime break, Ali Saleh was sent through on goal after a chipped Yahia Nader pass behind the Vietnamese defence, but the Al Wasl winger’s volley missed the goal.

Saleh continued to be a nuance for the Vietnamese defence, dribbling past two men down the left flank and squaring for Zayed Al Ameri who had the goal at his mercy but could not connect with ball.

The second half started with a bang for the Emiratis as Saleh accelerated past two defenders before being brought down by Huynh Tan Sinh on the fringes of the Vietnamese penalty box. The referee pointed to the spot, but after consulting VAR, the decision was overturned and a free-kick awarded to the UAE instead.

Saleh rifled the resulting free-kick towards the top corner, forcing a fine reflex save from goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung to deny him the opener.

Vietnam thought they had finally broken the deadlock with just five minutes to play as Quang Hai skilfully made his way through the Emirati defence and saw his blocked shot fall for Tien Linh who fired from close range, but Al Shamsi was alert and made the save to keep the scores level at the final whistle.

In a later match, Jordan survived a late scare to earn a valuable 2-1 win against North Korea and move to the top of Group D of the championship on Friday.

Coach Abdullah Abu Ismael’s men started on the front foot and had their first big chance of the match after 11 minutes when Yazan Al Naimat embarked on a solo run, overtaking two defenders to go through on goal, but his tame finish was caught by goalkeeper Kang Ju-hyok.

Mohammed Bani Atieh tried his luck in the 26th minute, cutting inside from the left and firing low, but Kang was alert to the threat and made the save.

Jong Kum-song found himself in hot water in the last minute of the first half after he tripped Al Naimat inside the box. Bani Atieh stepped up and slotted the resulting spot-kick to send Jordan into the dressing room with a goal advantage.

The same pattern continued in the second half with Jordan dominating and nearly doubling their lead three minutes after the restart. North Korea defender Jong failed to clear Danial Afaneh’s long ball, and it fell into the path of Al Naimat who moved clear on goal, but Kang Ju-hyok produced a world-class save to parry the forward’s placed finish.

Substitute Omar Hani added Jordan’s second with a quarter of an hour to go after a well-worked attacking move.

Bani Atieh received the ball on the right wing and delivered a pinpoint cross for Ali Olwan whose header at the far post beat the North Korean goalkeeper, but bounced off the crossbar. Hani was in the right place at the right time to nod on the rebound into the empty net.

North Korea did not give up and piled the pressure on their opponents for the remainder of the match. Pak Kwang-chon saw his piledriver from distance parried by goalkeeper Abdullah Al Fakhori and Jang Song-il sent his header into the upright from point-blank range to the dismay of his teammates and coach.

As the game drew to a close, North Korea finally managed to find the back of the net. Pak’s header following an out-swinging corner was helped on its way by substitute Ryang Hyon-ju.

His goal would prove to be mere consolation as Jordan assumed the summit of the group ahead of their encounter against Vietnam on Monday while North Korea will chase their first point against the UAE earlier on the same day.