Palestine Starting XI: Rami Hamadi; Musab Al-Battat ©, Amid Mahajna, Michel Termanini, Mohammed Khalil; Mohammed Rashid, Odai Kharoub, Mahmoud Abu Warda; Zaid Qunbar, Oday Dabbagh, Shehab Qunbar
Substitutions: Mohammed Khalil <-> Camilo Saldaña 46’ // Shehab Qunbar <-> Mahmoud Eid 46’ // Zaid Qunbar <-> Alaa Aldeen Hassan 61’ // Mohammed Rashid <-> Islam Batran 77’ // Alaa Aldeen Hassan <-> Samer Zubaida 90+2
Goals: Michel Termanini 90+4’
Cautions: Amid Mahajna 24’ Odai Kharoub 74’ Amid Mahajna 90+1’ (sent off), Camilo Saldaña 90+8’
Recap: Palestine waited until late to wrap up a crucial three points against a determined and resilient Bangladesh side. It was Michel Termanini who bagged the winner four minutes into injury time of the second half and only seconds after his defensive partner Amid Mahajna was sent off.
The hosts had been full of intent in the first game on Thursday but failed to capitalize on their chances before Palestine’s opening goal.
Today’s game was different with Palestine in control of proceedings in the first half and not being exposed by Bangladeshi counter attacks. Mitul Marma stood strong in goal making three key saves in the first half to deny Oday Dabbagh and Shehab Qunbar a chance to open the scoring.
The longer the match went on the more Bangladesh grew in confidence. After suffering humiliation five days earlier there was a clear intent to stop Paletstine by any means necessary. Those means were a series of tactical fouling that prevented Palestine from playing on the break. The Tajik referee Nasrullo Kabirov flashed three yellow cards to the hosts in the first half but his grip on the match loosened as the game went on.
Bangladesh had a chance to open the scoring in the 44th minute with a direct sequence of play that saw the ball advance from Marma’s goal in just three passes. A great pass from Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuyan found the streaking Mohammed Fahim who was denied expertly by Rami Hamadi.
Makram Daboub rung in the changes at halftime once again. Camilo Saldaña’s replaced Mohammed Khalil and Mahmoud Eid was brought on to have a similar impact that he had in Thursday’s game. Shehab Qunbar fell ill at half time which further necessitated the change.
Palestine’s shape changed as well with the team reverting back to a 4-4-2 as they looked to pour numbers forward.
Oday Dabbagh was thought to have opened the scoring after picking off Mitul Marma’s pass and shooting at an open net. The Charleroi attacker’s effort went wide of the far post much to the chagrin of everyone involved.
It was Marma’s lone mistake of the game and he responded by denying Palestine on several other occasions including efforts from substitute Alaa Aldeen Hassan and midfielder Odai Kharoub.
Unfortunately, the Bangladesh shot stopper was unable to finish the game and was subbed off in the 84th minute. That would be one of many shocking developments in the game’s dying embers.
In spite of a slew of substitutions, time wasting, and Marma’s injury there was only eight minutes of time added on. Rami Hamadi’s intervention on Rakib Hossain was a clean one and prevented a shock goal. The forward then threw himself on the ground in an attempt to win a penalty but play was waived on. Things got worse for Palestine when Mahajna was comically sent off trying to prevent Hossain from wasting more time. He gently moved the forward out of play only for Hossain to spring to his legs in protest.
Kabirov showed Mahajna a second yellow and upon review realized he had to send him off. Makram Daboub withdrew the substitute Alaa Aldeen Hassan for Samer Zubaida to bring more balance with ten men. All signs pointed to Palestine having to settle for a point but a quick interchange between Zubaida and Musab Al-Battat gave the captain time and space to put in one of his famous crosses.
The captain’s delivery was flicked on by Islam Batran to the far post for an onrushing Michel Termanini who powered home the winner with less than four minutes to play.
The away win was Palestine’s first in standalone World Cup qualifying since a 6-0 victory over Malaysia in 2015. In the 2022 cycle, Palestine had failed to pick up a single point on the road. The four points in their balance now means Al-Fida’i has one foot in the Third Round of World Cup qualification.
What I liked: The resilience. This was a classic trap game. Palestine had beaten Bangladesh by a big result in perfect conditions just five days earlier. This match was held in conditions that were far from perfect. The pitch was heavy, the weather was hot and humid forcing many players to break their fast, and the refereeing left a lot to be desired.
Add to that a young goalkeeper having the game of his life and you had a recipe for a draw or even a shock defeat. Palestine got what they came for- three points and the manner in which they did it means very little.
The spirit in this team is a sight to behold. Without Tamer Seyam and Ataa Jaber the replacements stepped up and showed what they could do. Oday Dabbagh threw a lifeline to his teammates in the first game when he opened the scoring and today his teammates returned the favor.
What I didn’t like: I felt we fell into the Bangladeshi trap of getting into arguments and fights as the game went on. In the end, they got what they wanted by a poor referee that overreacted in showing Amid Mahajna his second yellow card. There will tough encounters on the road to the North American World Cup and it is important we take today as a lesson and avoid repeating the same mistake in the future
Elsewhere in Group I: Lebanon got thumped in Canberra by a score of 5-0. That means that Australia has become the first team to advance to Round Three of World Cup qualifying. It also means that Palestine can wrap up qualification with just a single draw in their June games against Lebanon and Australia.
What’s Next: Palestine will play “host” to Lebanon on June 6th before traveling to Perth to face Australia on June 11th.
