The UAE drew with Hong Kong 1-1 in a friendly played at the Al Wasl stadium here yesterday. The match was a good preparation for both teams for the 2002 World Cup Asian qualifier.

UAE coach Henri Michel gave a chance to play to four new players he selected due to their excellent standard in the league matches played so far. They were defender Ismail Rashid of Al Wasl, Al Nasr midfielder Mohammed Ibrahim, and striker Adel Mattar of Al Wahda, the fourth - goalkeeper Mohammed Abdullah of Al Ittihad didn't take part because Juma Rashid played all 90 minutes.

The two teams performed better in the second session. For the UAE players, the match was a tough call because it came in the middle of a week packed with league matches, so it was no surprise that they looked tired and exhausted during the match.

The UAE attacked most of the time through midfielders Mohammed Ibrahim, Abdul Salam Juma, alongwith Fahd Masood from the flanks. They provided strikers Yasir Salim and Qazim Ali with many scoring opportunities, but the two failed to find the target.
Mohammed Ibrahim had a shot at goal in the 31st minute but the ball just went past the upright.

Ten minutes later, Yasir was put through with only the Hong Kong keeper to beat, but he shot at the keeper's body. Hong Kong's Wai Man Lee lost a good chance to put his side in the lead in the last minute of the first half, when UAE keeper Juma Rashid tipped the ball for a corner.

The UAE coach made some changes in the second half, bringing in Walid Obaid and Haydar Allo Ali to sharpen his midfield. Yasir Salim then scored for UAE in the 57th minute after Mohammed Ibrahim passed to Haydar on the left, who in turn crossed to Yasir who slotted the ball past keeper Cheuk Leung.

After being a goal down, Hong Kong played cautiously.
An error by Jalil in the 75th minute gave Hong Kong the equaliser. Ho Chan crossed from the right, Jalil failed to clear it and the ball went to Weung Chi who pounced on the ball and placed it to the left of the UAE keeper. One again Juma was called upon to save Ho Chan's powerful shot in the final minute, saving the day for UAE.