Sport | Football
Late penalty salvages a draw for Saudi Arabia against Koreans
Saudi Arabia salvaged a 1-1 draw against South Korea with a second-half penalty in an Asian Cup match interrupted for 25 minutes due to floodlight failure at Indonesia's Soviet-era stadium.
- AP
- Published: 00:21 July 12, 2007
Jakarta: Saudi Arabia salvaged a 1-1 draw against South Korea with a second-half penalty in an Asian Cup match interrupted for 25 minutes due to floodlight failure at Indonesia's Soviet-era stadium.
Saudi striker Yasser Al Qahtani fired home the penalty on 75 minutes after the referee judged that South Korean defender Oh Beom-seok pulled down striker Malek Maaz.
Just over 10 minutes earlier, South Korea had taken the lead through a header by Choi Sung-kuk in what had mostly been a lacklustre display from the region's soccer giants in their first match at the Asian Cup.
When play resumed after the floodlight failure at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium, Saudi had two great chances. Maaz missed the target after being put through on goal and Saad Al Harthi saw a powerful shot well saved.
The result means Indonesia are top of the group after beating Bahrain. It also means Bahrain can get back into contention when they play South Korea on Sunday.
Neither side created many chances on Wednesday in a first half that was dominated by solid defending. Saudi's best moment came with less than a minute gone, when Al Qahtani had a free header inside the box but sent the ball over the bar. Maaz was then denied in the 25th minute when the goalkeeper stopped a powerful shot with his foot.
South Korean striker Cho Jae-jin unleashed a spectacular overhead kick on the 40th minute, but the Saudi keeper got a palm to it. Yasser Al Mosailem was forced to make another save minutes later, getting his legs in the way of a powerful left-foot strike from outside the area by Kim Chee- woo.
Meanwhile, in Kuala Lumpur Javad Kazemian struck in the 77th minute to give Iran a 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan in Group C.
The 26-year-old rescued a largely disappointing Iran side, who struggled to find their rhythm against the combative Central Asians.
Uzbekistan took the lead on 15 minutes through an own goal by Iran defender Rahman Rezaei.
Iran levelled in the 55th minute when Seyed Jalal Hosseini scored from a corner before Kazemian emerged as the hero.
Tempers frayed on the sidelines towards the end of the match with Iran coach Ghalenoei sent to stands by the referee for apparently throwing a water bottle at the fourth official, though the coach said his anger was directed at his players.
Ghalenoei said his team's superior fitness was the key to victory. "When I took over, my first priority was to improve fitness levels," he said. "After 60 minutes, that was when we started to dominate because our players were fit and able to compete better.
"Uzbekistan prepared well and it was difficult getting used to the heat in Kuala Lumpur, but I am satisfied to have a win in our first game."
The victory put Iran in second place in Group C behind China, who beat hosts Malaysia 5-1 on Tuesday.
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