Abdulla Marzooq (left) of Bahrain vies with Sebastian Soria of Qatar during the Gulf Cup football match in the Bahraini capital of Manama, yesterday. Bahrain won 1-0 and qualified for the semi-final of the 21st Gulf Cup.
Manama: Qatar’s 2013 Gulf Cup journey came to an end, after losing 1-0 to Bahrain, who advanced to the semi-finals at the expense of Paulo Autuori’s side at National Stadium yesterday.
Faouzi Aaish’s goal in the 25th minute was the only goal of the match in the Group A clash.
In other other Group A clash, UAE maintained their 100 per cent record with an easy 2-0 win over Oman.
The result means that UAE top the group with nine points, with the hosts Bahrain in second place with four points.
Qatar finish in third spot with three points and Oman in last place, with one.
Qatar, coached by Autuori, made a significant change in the goalkeeping department with Baba Malik coming in for Qasem Burhan.
With both teams needing to win the match to advance to the last four of the 2013 Gulf Cup, the hosts Bahrain started the match brightly.
Bahrain, who suffered a shock loss against UAE on Tuesday, created several chances in the early minutes of the match, putting Qatar under pressure.
Qatar’s Marcone Amaral made a crucial tackle in the 10th minute, when he denied a clear goal opportunity.
Qatar, who had struggled in the early parts of the game in their two opening matches against Oman and UAE, found it difficult to get the ball as well as creating chances.
Bahrain gave their home fans something to cheer about, when the hosts took the lead in the 22nd minute, courtesy of Assish’s penalty.
Defender Bilal Mohammed was harshly penalised after Bahrain’s Abdulla Al Marzooqi headed a deep cross which touched Mohammed’s arm in the penalty box.
The referee’s decision was protested by Qatar midfielder Wesam Rizik.
Despite Rizik’s protests, the referee did not change his mind, and after a short delay Aaish made no mistake of converting the penalty when he struck the ball in the top left hand corner, which gave Malik no chance.
It was Qatar’s second straight penalty that Autuori’s team had conceded.
Qatar tried to get back into the game, and had to wait until the 30th minute when Mohammed saw his header go above Sayed Jaafar’s crossbar.
A few minutes later, Sebastian Soria saw his effort hit the crossbar when the striker smartly showed some good footwork to power the ball against the frame of the goal.
With the hosts taking a 1-0 advantage into the second half, Qatar started the period brightly, enjoying ball possession.
In the 53rd minute, Soria saw a penalty appeal turned down by the referee, when the striker felt he was fouled by Jaafar.
Television replays showed that Jaafar got clear hands on the ball.
Despite Qatar’s chances in the second half, Bahrain began to get back into the game, showing the same determination that they carried out in the first half.
Malik, made a tremendous save in the 57th minute, saving a one-on-one from Aaish after his side his the crossbar.
Soria who saw little of the ball in the second half, was again appealing for a second penalty in the 67th minute, but the referee did not agree.
The Qatari goalkeeper denied another one-on-one chance by Sami Al Husaini to keep Qatar in the hunt.
Autouri saw his side create chances late the second half, but when the referee blew his whistle, his team had not managed to find the goal that would have seen them advance. THE PENINSULA
