News
| Saudia Blitz away Labnon 4-1 | |
| Date: 3/6/2008 | |
| By: SK |
RIYADH - Three second-half goals secured Saudi Arabia their second victory in Group Four of the Asian FIFA World Cup qualifiers as they defeated Lebanon 4-1 at King Fahad International Stadium on Monday.
Lebanon opened the scoring after 42 minutes through Mahmoud El Ali before Yasser Al Qahtani leveled the scores three minutes later while Osama Hawsawi scored the second goal for his side after 62 minutes.
Redha Tukar added a third with seven minutes remaining before Al Qahtani scored his second goal of the night in the last minute of the game.
After a slow start for both sides, Saudi Arabia had the first clear chance of the game after 30 minutes when skipper Al Qahtani received the ball inside the area before firing a powerful shot that was deflected by Lebanon defender Ali Al Saadi.
Saudi Arabia had another chance six minutes later when Malek Maaz made his way down the right flank before hitting an effort that was saved by Lebanon goalkeeper Lary Mehanna.
But it was Lebanon who opened the scoring two minutes before the break when Mohamad Ghaddar sent a cross from midfield to strike partner Mahmoud El Ali, who took advantage of a moment of confusion between Zaid Al Mowallad and goalkeeper Walied Abdullah before back-heeling into the net.
However, Lebanons joy lasted for just two minutes as Saudi Arabia levelled the scores in the last minute of the first half when Al Mowallad sent a cross from the right inside the area and Al Qahtani made no mistake from close range.
Saudi Arabia made a good start to the second half and they should have taken the lead in the 49th minute when Al Qahtani struck from close range but the ball went into the side netting.
However, the home side scored their second goal two minutes after the hour mark when Mohammed Al Shalhoub hit a corner from the left that the Lebanese defenders failed to clear and Osama Hawsawi scored from close range to make it 2-1.
It was 3-1 after 83 minutes when Abdullah Shuhails cross from the left was headed home by Redha Tukar before Al Qahtani sealed the win with his second in the last minute with a close-range effort after Mehanna blocked the shot from