Yemen beat Nepal as Tajikistan, Jordan win

KATHMADU, Oct 25: Nepali football continued to hurt fans as the U-19 team suffered a 3-0 blow from Yemen on the opening day of the AFC U-19 Championship Group A qualifiers at the Dasharath Stadium on Sunday. Also victorious on the day were Tajikistan and Jordan. [break]



For Nepal, it was an opportunity to redeem pride after U-16 team´s painful defeats earlier this month in Kathmandu but they failed to come up with good performance.



Unlike coach Raju Shakya´s promise and focus on the attack, the team failed to make any mentionable attempt on opponent’s post throughout the match.


Nepal conceded an own goal in 40th minute to give the visitors a lead. In a bid to clear Al-Hubaishi’s free kick, Ganesh Khadka headed the ball into own nets.



After the break, Nepal conceded two more goals within the span of eight minutes. In 53rd minute, Al Khamri doubled the lead with a beautiful header off the free kick of Al Hubaishi.

Al-Worafi sealed the match through a spot kick after defender Niraj Magar brought down Al-Hagri inside the box seven minutes later.



Shakya expressed dissatisfaction saying the team failed to play at their level. "The team failed to meet my expectations," he said. "The players seemed confused about their position.”



Yemeni coach Sami Najib Fagar Ba Wajir was not happy with the quality of the ground. "We could have scored more had we utilized opportunities," he added.



The spectators present in the stadium shouted slogans against All Nepal Football Association, president Ganesh Thapa and Shakya expressing their dissatisfaction over the performance.



Earlier, Tajikistan outplayed Kyrgyzstan 4-0 in the inaugural match.



Tajik skipper Sobirov Kurbonali gave the team lead in 20th minute with a lucky goal. His weak shot hit the pole before crossing the goal-line. The team went into break with the scoreline.


After the break, Askarov Fariz scored second utilizing a rebound off goalie Dzhanybekov Ruslan in 56th minute. Seven minutes later, Fariz scored his second with a spectacular shot utilizing a pass from Kurbonali.



Striker Gaforov killed off the match in 72nd minute through a close range shot after dribbling through two defenders.



“Nepal is lucky for us,” a happy Tajik coach Gufurov Salokhidin said. "We made some mistakes and we will try to correct them in other matches."



At the APF Halchowk Ground, Jordan defeated Palestine 3-1.



Although Jordan dominated the first half, it remained goalless as Jordanian midfielder Ahmed Sameer squandered a one-versus-one opportunity against goalkeeper Mohd Yahya.



Sameer made up for the error scoring the first goal from the box in 53rd minute. Khaled doubled the lead in 72nd minute dribbling the ball past defenders and hitting straight to the nets.



Jordan´s victory became eminent when Palestine´s goalkeeper Yahya made a suicide goal in 88th minute. He was unable to hold on a back pass from captain Alaaddin Yamin.

Palestine was able to strike a consolation goal in the fading moments as midfielder Rami Almasalma chipped the ball into the net in 92nd minute.



Palestine coach Moussa Bezaz expressed his dissatisfaction over the referee´s decision to deprive their team of a penalty shot. The Jordanian goalkeeper was yellow carded for pushing during injury time but Palestine were only awarded a free-kick.



"I don´t know why the referee did not give us a penalty," said an infuriated Palestine coach. Jordanian coach Semida Mohamed was pleased at his team´s exemplary performance.