UAE trounces Kuwait 3-0 in international friendly
The excellent performance of the UAE gave a lot of hope ot its technical staff and to the very few fans who attended the encounter
Abu Dhabi: The UAE trounced Kuwait 3-0 last night in an international friendly match held at Al Nahyan Stadium in Al Wahda club here within the two teams preparations for the Gulf Cup and the Asian Cup.
Ahmad Khalil put the home into the lead in the 22nd minute following a penetrating pass form Amer Abdul Rahman and Esmail Mattar, who played one of his best matches since Slovenian head coach Sretchko Katanec was appointed to lead the team, added the second five minutes before the break when Khalid Sabeel sent him clear behind the defenders. Mattar’s shot was blocked by Nawaf Al Khalidi, Kuwait’s captain and custodian, but Mattar was on the right place to shoot the rebound into the net for his team’s second and his first goal in the 9 matches the UAE played under Katanec.
In the second half, Kuwait played a more attacking game and pressed for a goal but the UAE defenders and custodian kept a clean sheet despite the injury of their central defender Hamdan Al Kamali who was taken to hospital and needed 5 stitches in his forehead after colliding with his colleague Sabeel in the 50th minute.
Both teams exchanged attacks and the home team have the last laugh when substitutes Saeed Al Kathiri, who replaced Khalil, and Sultan Theyab Awanah, who replaced Mattar in the 91st minute, combined to score the match’s most beautiful goal in the 3rd minute of injury time.
Awanah snatched the ball from two defenders and went into the box to cross to Al Kathiri who back-heeled the ball into the net for his team’s third.
The excellent performance of the UAE gave a lot of hope ot its technical staff and to the very few fans who attended the encounter.
