Sport | Football
Massive celebrations mark UAE's win
Minutes after the UAE floored the high-flying Saudi team and booked a berth in their first ever Gulf Cup final, the capital experienced one big party.
- By M. Satya Narayan, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:36 May 3, 2009
- Fans across the country celebrated all night after the Gulf Cup semi-final victory over Saudi Arabia.
- Image Credit: Fay Salam/Gulf News
Abu Dhabi: Minutes after the UAE floored the high-flying Saudi team and booked a berth in their first ever Gulf Cup final, the capital experienced one big party.
Firecrackers lit up the night sky, while the car-honking UAE nationals, as well as expatriates, brought all those cooped up in their houses to witness the celebrations.
It was a night to be remembered for long and the fans celebrated until the wee hours of the morning.
The UAE coach Bruno Metsu had predicted that history was in the making. "We proved history wrong with our win over Kuwait and tomorrow you will see we will write a new chapter in UAE football."
It certainly was a piece of history that was created at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium and Metsu's team did shock many at the ground with that last ditch attacking move which sunk the strong Saudis.
The Saudis were dominating the last quarter and one would have expected the UAE team to defend and play out time in anticipation of the extra time and tie-breaker.
And when Mattar received the ball from his Al Wahda teammate Abdul Rahim Juma, his first touch foxed the rival defence as he moved away from the goal and it looked like he would cross the ball into the box.
But the man with silken skills dashed into the box and shot into the far corner for the winner which has already been replayed hundreds of times on the UAE channels.
The UAE's young striker had scored one of his career's most important goals and perhaps proved that the World Youth Player of 2003 is now a full-fledged adult striker.
However, the Al Wahda star showed he was still a youngster as he cried for nearly an hour after that glorious strike.
Another strong belief of Metsu and the team that it was the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium which had them close to the fans also seemed to pay off.
In fact, in the weeks preceding the region's premier event, the players were very sceptical about the support from the UAE fans.
But, not only the UAE fans, veterans who have covered the Gulf Cup for decades say that this is the first time that so many travelling fans have come to support their respective teams.
And almost every UAE player said the UAE's No 1 player was the "support from the fans." A view which Metsu expressed when he pointed out how many smaller teams upset the big guns in Cup competitions in Europe, sheerly on the strength of their home crowds.
Meanwhile, Oman's big, burly Milan Macala, the Czech coach, said that luck was on his side when Oman scored the 1-0 over Bahrain a few hours earlier in the evening.
"We were lucky. I was surprised that Badr Al Maymani, managed to outjump the taller Bahraini defenders and score that goal. Bahrain put a lot of pressure on us after that goal but thanks to some brilliant keeping by Ali Al Habshi we managed to make it to the final."
Bahrain coach Senad Reissue said he had warned his team to look out for the crosses from the flanks. "I wasn't happy with our performance," said the Bosnian, who had to take over from Germany's Hans Peter Breughel after Bahrain lost the opening match.
Metsu and Macala, two of the wiliest men in the business, will now be working overtime as they plot the downfall of each other's teams.
And UAE will not have forgotten the 1-2 loss in the opening match against Oman. Tomorrow, Metsu and his boys will be seeking a revenge win for the third successive match.
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