RIYADH, April 1 - Saudi Arabia staged another late
fightback to beat UAE 3-2 on Wednesday and continue their push
for a place at their fifth successive World Cup finals.
For the second time in as many matches, the tenacious Saudis
climbed back from a goal down late in the game to win and go
level on points in Group Two with second-placed North Korea.
Naif Hazadi again proved to be the Saudis' saviour, beating
the keeper to Saleh al-Dosari's cross and heading home the
winner with seven minutes left.
Hazadi had scored the equaliser to trigger the Saudi
comeback in their shock 2-1 win over Iran on Saturday.
The win moved the Saudis even with North Korea on 10 points,
followed by Iran on six, leaving UAE out of contention on just
one point. South Korea lead on 11 after beating North Korea 1-0
earlier in Seoul.
The Saudis struck first after only four minutes when Abdoh
Autef coolly converted a penalty and they nearly added a second
10 minutes later when Ahmed Ateef struck the post.
Playing for pride against their regional rivals, UAE hit
back in the 38th minute when Mohamed al-Shehhi headed home
Ismaeil Matar's cross.
The highly-rated Matar stunned the Riyadh crowd in
first-half stoppage time with a spectacular half volley from 35
metres which looped over the keeper and into the net.
The Saudis heaped on the pressure after the break and got
the equaliser on 70 minutes when Fares Juma, who gave away the
first-half penalty, steered his attempted clearance into his own
net.
The hosts kept up the pressure in the closing minutes and
clinched the winner when Hazazi leapt high into the air to head
over the stranded keeper and trigger wild celebrations at the
King Fahd stadium.
(Reporting by Martin Petty in Bangkok; Editing by John
Mehaffey; To query or comment on this story e-mail:
sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)