(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)It wasn't like the highlights package against Malaysia in fact far from it. This indeed was a different challenge and all the UAE returned with from this historic fixture from the West Bank was a stalemate.
Backed vociferously by thousands of fans at the Faisal Al Huseni Stadium Palestine admirably held the superior Whites to a goalless draw in an AFC Asian Cup/World Cup qualifier on Tuesday night. The UAE had held most of the aces throughout this game but a goal wasn't forthcoming. The Whites did make it to the final third on many an occasion but were met by a wall of Palestine defenders. And Palestine were pretty happy to sit back and go on the counter whenever the opportunity presented itself. This was an opponent they had done their homework on and they put it into play not allowing the marauding UAE forward line any leeway. That pretty much was the story of the first half where their moves were either cut off or they couldn't get that final pass in. Omar Abdulrahman as usual pulled the strings trying to feed ball after ball to Ali Ahmed Mabkhout and Ahmed Khalil the heroes against Malaysia. On the other hand Palestine owed this result not just to their backline but their last man in defence Tawfiq Ali Abuhammad. The goalkeeper was the hero of the night pulling off a flurry of saves to deny the UAE. The 24-year-old punched away Khalil's effort in the first half and then pushed away a curling freekick to again deny the Al Ahli ace. There were numerous through balls being fed to Mabkhout but the Al Jazira frontman couldn't get to them or was thwarted by the defence. Palestine who were content sitting at the back pressed ahead a lot more after the break and forced back to back corners on the hour mark. But then again they retained two layers of defenders which the UAE found tough to penetrate. Khalil again came up with an effort when he darted in from the right but his attempt was ambitious at best with his tight-angled shot going over the cross bar. Palestine coach Abdulnasser Barakat then made his intentions known by strengthening his attack by bringing on striker Tamer Seyam for midfielder Jaka Hbaisha who had picked up a booking earlier in the first half. UAE coach Mahdi Ali responded by taking off midfielder Habib Al Fardan and replacing him with Omar's brother Mohammed Abdulrahman. Omar who had enjoyed quite a bit of space in the first half didn't quite have it his way in the second instalment with the Palestine defenders troubling him. There were at least two to three defenders marking him and he was dispossessed many a time. And the night got worse for the playmaker as he also picked up a booking for lunging into Tamer Seyam. Palestine's best attempt came from substitute Mahmoud Dhadha as the half wore on. Dhadha who had come on moments earlier in place of Sameh Maraaba saw his threatening shot from the right fumbled but then collected by UAE captain and goalkeeper Ali Khaseif. As the clock ticked away the UAE despite being hassled and not allowed to play their usual game by Palestine conjured a few more attempts. But luck it seemed was clearly not on their side. Amer Abdulrahman fired in a brilliant freekick but Mabkhout couldn't connect a header while Khalil headed wide after Omar had crossed from the left. Khalil again asked questions with a fierce pile driver but goalkeeper Tawfiq Ali Abuhammad again pulled off a brilliant save with 10 minutes left. He then averted Ismail Ahmed's shot to safety as Palestine held on for a point. Goals & Cards Palestine 0 > Yellow cards: Mohammed Darwish 28 Jaka Hbaisha 43. UAE 0 > Yellow card: Omar Abdulrahman 69. Next match > The UAE play Saudi Arabia away on October 8 Previous record > Palestine beat UAE 1-0 Pan Arab Games 1999 > UAE drew with Palestine 1-1 International Friendly 2009
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