(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Hosts Saudi Arabia were denied an opening-day victory in the 22nd edition of the Gulf Cup here on Thursday night as a spirited Qatari XI pegged them back for a 1-1 draw.
Fahd Al Muwallad's 37th-minute strike had given Juan Ramon Lopez Caro's team a narrow lead at the half-time interval that was wiped out when a goalkeeping gaffe from Walid Abdullah Ali allowed Ibrahim Majid to nod in for a share of the spoils.
The home side had the first noteworthy chance of this Group A match on the quarter of an hour mark when Saudi skipper Saud Khariri met a corner with a bullet header, only to see the goalbound attempt expertly kept out by goalkeeper Qasem Burhan.
That opportunity seemed to spur on the Qataris at the opposite end of the pitch though and Abdulrahman Elias twice came close to breaking the deadlock thereafter.
Elias' marauding run at the hosts' defence ended with a deflected shot that Ali did well to turn around the post.
However, his next opportunity really was one he should have taken. Majid Hassan swung in a tempting centre and Elias somehow contrived to miss the target when it seemed far easier to find it.
He was made to pay for his profligacy too with eight minutes remaining in the first half as Saudi Arabia took the lead.
Tayser Al Jassem released Nasser Shamrani down the inside-right channel and his cutback found Al Muwallad, who bundled the ball home in rather ungainly fashion.
The partisan home crowd didn't care nonetheless and they thought they had yet more reason to cheer moments after the resumption when the same player had appeared to score his € and his country's € second of the night.
Their joyous exultations proved short-lived in the end as a flag on the near side chalked off the effort, with the assistant referee spotting an apparent push in the build-up.
That let-off again breathed fresh life into Qatar and Abdulkarim Fadlallah almost caught Ali out with a speculative effort from distance.
The Saudi shot-stopper proved somewhat less alert at a subsequent Hassan Khalid left-sided corner and, haplessly caught out of position, Majid nodded in the equaliser at the far post.
Majid's leveller understandably proved a hammer blow to the once buoyant Saudis and the plucky Qataris pressed for the lead for much of the second-half action that followed.
Indeed, if the likes of Elias and Hassan Haidoos had been more clinical with the presentable openings that came their way, Djamel Balmadi's side could well have netted that elusive second strike and registered a shock success.
It just wasn't to be their night and this result gave either Bahrain or Yemen the chance to take the ascendency in this four-strong pool, with that match taking place in the Saudi capital as Khaleej Times went to press last night.
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