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Starting XI (4-3-3): Rami Hamadi, Musab Al-Battat ©, Michel Termanini, Mohammed Saleh, Camildo Saldaña (Mohammed Khalil 90’); Ataa Jaber, Mohammed Yamin (Mohammed Rashid 65’), Mahmoud Abu Warda (Islam Batran 85’); Tamer Seyam, Oday Dabbagh, Saleh Chihadeh (Zeid Qunbar 65’)
Goals: None
Cautions: None
HIGHLIGHTS:
Recap: An empty stadium with the modest skyline of the Emirate of Sharjah was the background for Palestine’s maiden World Cup qualifier against neighbours Lebanon. The first half was a cagey affair with both teams feeling each other out and neither willing to risk throwing too many men forward.
Markam Dabboub and Nikola Juricevic made some surprise selections in their starting line-up. Majed Osman was picked ahead of Mohammed Haidar in midfield for Lebanon which left The Cedars without a proper attacking cog in the middle of the pitch. Palestine left two lynchpins on the bench- Mohammed Rashid and Yaser Hamed Mayor with their respective replacements Yameen and Saleh proving worthy of their places.
Palestine lined up in their familiar 4-3-3 formation with Mahmoud Abu Warda drifting towards the right and Oday Dabbagh roaming along the front line in search of the ball. The first half an hour was so dull that this reporter noticed that one could see the golden arches of American imperialism during goal kicks and what looked to be a five-a-side game happening outside the stadium in the corner behind Rami Hamadi’s goal.
Oday Dabbagh was left ruing his luck after failing to connect with Camilo Saldaña’s cross in the first twenty minutes of the game.
Palestine’s second real action came from good work by Ataa Jaber who drove forward and dished the ball to the right. He dragged his follow-up shot from outside the box but recovered to win the ball back and find Saldaña whose cross went to the Neftchi Baku man only for the ensuing header to fly wide of the post.
A minute later Palestine sprung Oday Dabbagh on the right flank following a Lebanese attacking free kick. Dabbagh’s ensuing cross left much to be desired.
In the 34th minute Lebanon had their first pop at goal from long range through Majed Osman. Four minutes Later Oday Dabbagh was set free on the counter and bearing down on goal only for the assistant’s flag to go up. His chip shot ended up hitting the post, though.
Lebanon won the first corner of the game in the 40th minute. It is only notable due to the fact that the stat sheet at halftime read as follows: Zero cards, Zero goals, Zero Saves, Zero shots.
Palestine were better in that they had more possession but it was pretty even.
The second half started with a bang. Palestine had a chance on 47 minutes after Abu Warda sent in a cross which Dabbagh dummied leaving Yamin to shoot at goal from the edge of the box. His shot skied into the stands. A minute later, Lebanon found space vacated on Palestine’s left flank and put in a low cross that got tangled under the legs of Karim Darwiche and Palestine’s defenders.
From there on out Palestine put Lebanon under sustained pressure. Dabbagh was working the lines and getting flagged for being offside. Saleh Chiahdeh won a free kick in an attacking area that Michel Termanini could not connect properly with.
The first shot on goal came on 61 minutes courtesy of a long range effort from Tamer Seyam. The two captains- Musab Al-Battat and Tamer Seyam combined beautifully on the right flank to win a corner. A scramble in front of goal was the result but Palestine could not punch it in.
It was a scene that would be repeated many a time with Palestine winning set pieces as they poured forward in numbers.
Seyam’s cross in the 77th minute nearly wound up in Mostafa Matar’s net. It would not be the last of the action as both Lebanon and Palestine nearly struck knockout blows late. Lebanon finally got forward inside the last ten minutes and asked questions of Palestine’s defence
On the stroke of full time we nearly got an Oday Dabbagh special only for Mostafa Matar to pull off a fantastic kick save to deny him the winner. A feeble shot, Lebanon’s only effort on goal, was produced in the 93rd minute but Rami Hamadi was able to snuff out the danger with little fuss.
In the end, both teams were forced to settle for a point, a result that will leave both sets of fans with a sense of frustration as they compete for a ticket to Round 3 of World Cup qualification.
Milestones: Rami Hamadi recorded his 22nd clean sheet in his 41st cap for the national team. Tamer Seyam became the fifth most capped player (57) in Palestine’s national team history, overtaking Abdallah Jaber. Mohammed Rashid recorded his 35th cap becoming the player with the 20th most appearances for the national team moving ahead of Murad Ismail, Abdelhamid Abuhabib and Haitham Dheeb (34).
Man of the Match: Ataa Jaber. The midfielder pulled the strings and shielded the defence and when the opportunity presented itself was also contributing in the attacking third.
What I Liked: There were a lot of positives today. A first start for Camilo Saldaña resulted in a really solid two way performance. Palestine was organized defensively and totally neutralized Lebanon. There were chances and Palestine left some of its powder dry. Yaser Hamed, Mohammd Rashid, and Mahmoud Wadi will be fresh for a big game against Australia on Tuesday.
What I didn’t Like: I am not sure it is fair to give any of the players or the coaches a hard time for the result today. I did feel that having someone like Mahmoud Eid, who is in great form with Bangkok United, could have been a winning card for Al-Fida’i. I believe Wadi was held out of the game due to personal reasons which also gives more credence to the idea of recalling Yashir Islame to the national team.
Elsewhere in Asia: Australia made easy work of Bangladesh winning 7-0 and missing a last minute penalty to make it 8-0. Several Pot 2 teams struggled. Kyrgyzstan threw away a 3-1 lead to lose 4-3. Jordan needed a last gasp equalizer to avoid defeat against Tajikistan. Uzbekistan and China also needed to come from behind to secure wins against Turkmenistan and Thailand. At the time of writing, Syria and India have yet to complete their games.
What’s Next: Palestine will travel to Kuwait to play host to Australia on Tuesday, November 21st at the Jaber Al-Ahmad Stadium. Kickoff is set for 16:00 Jerusalem Time.
