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IKOLI VICTOR
Doha
Qatar defeated Palestine 3-0 in the international friendly played at the Khalifa International Stadium match on Tuesday.
Over a thousand fans saw the game with all the goals being recorded in the first half. Almoez Ali, Akram Afif and Hassan Haydos struck for Al Annabi in what was their second win in five days. They had earlier beaten Marcello Lippi's China 1-0.
Commenting on the match, Qatar Coach Felix Sanchez said,"We played a serious match and we dominated from beginning till the end, but in the closing minutes we had some nervous moments that were contained.
"The result is very important as the players made a huge effort and are improving with every game.
"In October we have two big matches against Ecuador and Uzbekistan and they will give our players a real test."
Sanchez also added that he is following the developments of Qatar's opponents in their 2019 Asian Cup group."In our group, we are following and analyzing our opponents 9Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and North Korea) in Group E closely.
On the return of Karim Boudiaf, the Spanish coach said:"Boudiaf had some minutes of play and I am glad he's back. Hopefully, he will back for his club and return 100 percent for the country ahead of our next two friendlies."
Palestine team coach Nouredin Ould Ali said,"The first thirty minutes were disastrous for us. We conceded a goal in the first three minutes but we created some chances and we were better after the half-hour mark.
"We are looking for ways to change our attitude on the pitch. I spoke to the players at half time and they came out strongly in the second half.
"The scoreline was huge. We made so many mistakes and missing two important players due to injuries made the game difficult for us," Nouredin added.
Just three minutes into the game, Almoez Ali beat his marker to head the ball past goalkeeper Tawfiq Abuhamad with a fine header with captain Hassan Haydos providing the cross.
Akram scored the second goal with a fine finish inside the box, receiving a through pass from Abdelaziz Hatim then he turned his marker inside out before slotting the ball into the net on 19 minutes.
Seven minutes later, Afif almost got his brace when his header crashed to the top bar from Hassan Haydos' cross.
Qatar's incessant pressure, especially from the right flank, troubled the Palestine defence and in one of Pedro Miguel's perfect delivery into the box, the Palestine 'keeper failed to clear. The ball rolled to Boualem Khoukhi, who fired a cannon shot to hit the crossbar and the rebound was dispatched with precision by Haydos from eight yards on the half-hour mark.
Five minutes before the break, Haydos looked like he had suffered a knock and was replaced with Hashim Ali. Qatar took a three-goal cushion into the break with 68 percent of the possession and seven shots on goal.
Coach Felix Sanchez gave some players a chance like Ahmed Doozandah for Baoulem Khoauki in the 57th minute. Ahmed Alaaedin replaced Almoez Ali and Afif gave way for Sultan al Brake in the last 15 minutes of the game.
Alaaeldin found space just on the edge of the box his effort was wide with seven minues still to play.
Youssof Hassan showed why he's selected ahead of the established goalkeepers in the country with a save to Sameh Maraba's effort inside six yards.
He was on called up again to stop substitute Islam Batran's pinpoint header as the Palestine searched for a goal.
Batran came close to finding the net again but Youssof stopped his low with his left foot in the second minute of added time.
Despite the defeat, the Palestine supporters all dressed in yellow shirts numbering about sixty never stopped drumming and singing until the end of the game.
The result makes it six wins for Qatar against Palestine and two draws in eight matches played between the two countries.
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12/09/2018
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