UAE put three past sorry Kuwait

Mahdi Ali’s first home match in charge of the UAE senior team ended in a confident 3-0 victory over Gulf Cup holders Kuwait at Al Ahli Stadium on Tuesday.

A first half header from Saeed Al Khatheri, followed up by Habib Fardan and Walid Abbas’ late double left the visitors without answers, and went some way toward silencing critics of coach Ali’s forward line. 

Omar Abdul Rahman found Ali Mabkhout in space on the half hour, but one-on-one with keeper Khalid Al Rashidi, and with his marker Mohammad Al Rashidi trailing, he chipped and hit the crossbar.

Making up for it five minutes later, Mabkhout supplied the cross from the left wing, which Saeed Al Khatheri headed in, bottom right, for the UAE’s opener. It ended what had been a sparring match up until this point.

Just before half-time Mabkhout chased down Abdulaziz Sanqoor’s long-ball, down the right, to round Khalid Al Qahtani and supply Khatheri, who, under pressure from Mohammad Sanad, struck straight at the keeper.

Omar Abdul Rahman was lucky to escape a red card before the hour when he lashed out on an over-exuberant marker in Talal Al Enezi. The Manchester City-trialist was booked and immediately substituted for Habib Fardan, with Mahdi Ali looking less than impressed.

Kuwait’s closest call came moments later with Talal Al Amer’s cross to Yousuf Al Sulaiman intercepted by keeper Ali Khasaif. The spill found Abdullah Al Buraiki whose lob back in, on an open goal from outside the area, was headed clear by Mohammad Fawzi.

Fifteen minutes from time the UAE snatched a second when Amer Abdul Rahman’s free kick on the edge of the box struck the wall and was volleyed back in by its taker. Substitute keeper Hamad Al Qalaf palmed the effort clear of the right post, but Fardan reacted well for the follow-up.

With the brakes off and Kuwait tiring the UAE added a third five minutes from time when Walid Abbas’ toe-poke pass down the wing was fed back in by Esmail Al Hammadi ready for Abbas to crack into the top left corner, past a motionless Al Qalaf.