(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Much like their prior outing with Bahrain the Yemenis revelled in their underdog status and carried the fight to their opponents for much of the 90 minutes.
Riyadh: Plucky minnows Yemen registered their second successive stalemate in Group A with another spirited showing to hold Qatar to a 0-0 draw at the King Fahd International Stadium on Sunday evening.
Qatar’s Abdulaziz Hatem dribbles past Yemen’s Wahid Al Khyat during the Gulf Cup game on Sunday. — AFP
Much like their prior outing with Bahrain the Yemenis revelled in their underdog status and carried the fight to their opponents for much of the 90 minutes.
However they just couldn’t conjure up the breakthrough they arguably deserved and had to settle for a share of the spoils once more.
Still it’s the first time in Yemen’s football history that they’ve accrued two points at any Gulf Cup since their inaugural appearance at this regional tournament in 2003.
Both sides were guilty of making stray passes in a fretful first half beset by tension and tentativeness.
Yemen goalkeeper Mohammed Ayash drilled an attempted clearance straight into Hassan Khalid’s back on eight minutes and the ball fell for Ali Assadalla. However the shot-stopper swiftly atoned for the error by getting back into position to keep out Assadalla’s near-post effort.
There was little to choose between these teams on the pitch but there was a vast gulf between the two sets of supporters in the stands.
Yemen fans had packed an entire quadrant behind Qatar’s goal whereas Qatar’s faithful could be covered by the two big national flags they’d brought to the opposite end of the King Fahd International Stadium.
The Yemeni numbers only swelled as the match wore on and they certainly made themselves heard whenever their side got anywhere near Qatar’s goal.
A counter-attack or even the prospect of one spiralled the decibel levels ever upwards and it heightened expectation as to what would happen if they actually hit the target here.
That eventuality almost arose on the half hour mark as another sloppy mistake in possession — this time from Qatar — allowed Yemen to spring upfield at pace.
Waleed Al Hubaishi released Abdulwasea Al Matari through on Qasem Burhan’s goal. Burhan came out to narrow the angle but Al Matari’s low drive still sailed agonisingly wide of the far post.
Had that gone in the partisan crowd would have been something to behold. As it was though the chance itself gave Yemen’s players and supporters renewed belief and impetus heading into the second period.
There was little of action of note after the resumption which would perhaps explain why both coaches sought to change things around near the hour mark.
Yemen boss Miroslav Soukup was the first to partially show his hand bringing on Ahmed Alos for Wahid Al Khyat and Qatar counterpart Djemal Belmadi followed suit shortly thereafter by replacing Majed Mohammed with Meshaal Abdulla.
Those switches appeared to benefit the Qataris more in the latter stages. Khalid tested Ayash with a shot from distance with 20 minutes left on the clock and with time ticking down second-half substitute Ismaeel Mohammad wasted a glorious opportunity to win it at the death.
Latching onto an inviting knock-down well inside the Yemen penalty area Mohammad only had Ayash to beat yet only succeeded in drilling a left-footed strike straight at the relieved custodian.
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