Uzbekistan, Syria settle for draw

Syria and Uzbekistan settled for a 1-1 tie to secure their promotion to the quarterfinals of the Asian Under 17 Football Championship as both teams increased their tally to four points from two matches.

They are now certain of reaching the next round as the second of Group Three and one of the best two third-placed teams in the competition.

Each team has one match remaining. Uzbekistan will face Qatar while Syria will play against Japan, both matches to be held on Saturday, but the outcome will not hinder their promotion but will decide the standings of the group teams.

The Syrians started the match pressing forward in their quest to score an early goal despite the fact that they were fielding a single striker, Abdul Fattah Al Agha, who was subjected to tight marking form the Uzbek's defence.

Syrian wingback, Somar Yousuf made some brilliant runs on the right flank and created good scoring chances but they were squandered by his colleagues.

Al Agha tried his luck by long-range shots but his fierce shots went astray till the 30th minute when Somar crossed from the right and Al Agha escaped from his Uzbeks markers to head home the Syrian goal.

Abdul Razag Al Hussaini came near to make it two for Syria but his tremendous free kick hit the upleft, six minutes after their goal.

Burhan Sahiwni crossed a fantastic ball across the Uzbek's goal but his colleague, Mohammed Eid headed high above the bar, one minute before the end of the first half, then Sahiwni himself went past two defenders before sending a fierce shot that flew above the bar.

The Uzbek's resumed play after the breather more determined to change the result. Their coach, Ilineev Rauf, brought in striker Bikmorb Marat replacing Mirabullayev Djamshid.

Marat did not let his coach down. Only eight minutes after the break, he leveled the score when he shot home following a perfect pass from Usmankhodjaev Sobir.

The Uzbeks did not look back and went on searching for more goals attacking against the Syrian goal but Ali Shaaban, the Syrian custodian, was in a class of his own saving many dangerous balls and salvaging his team a valuable point.

Shaaban came to the rescue of his team when Djatdoyev Daut went past two defenders before sending a fierce shot which was saved by the Syrian goalie, 22 minutes after the interval.

Denisov Vitally, the Uzbek's midfielder, watched in disbelief as Shaaban saved miraculously his free kick. Then Daut's header from inside the six yard area was also saved by Shaaban. The Syrian's most dangerous chance was the fierce long-range shot by Zakariya Kaddor, seven minutes before the final whistle, that hit the bar.

The two teams were content with the result which was fair according to their performances in the match. They still have a chance of winning the top position of the group if they won their last match on Saturday.