Asian Cup 2015 (Qs) MD4: Kuwait 0-0 Lebanon

AFC – KUWAIT CITY, Lebanon kept their hopes of qualifying for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup alive after holding Group B rivals Kuwait to a goalless draw on Friday.

Both sides enjoyed chances in a tight first half at Kuwait SC Stadium before the home took control after the break only to fail to find a breakthrough having claimed a 1-1 draw in Beirut last month.

And with Iran beating Thailand 3-0 to move four points clear of Kuwait at the top of the table, third-placed Lebanon are just a point further point off the pace with two games remaining.

Lebanon entertain Iran, while Thailand travel to Kuwait in the penultimate round of fixtures next week.

“We had an excellent performance in the match especially in the second half when we played well in all of our lines,” said Lebanon coach Giuseppe Giannini.

“We know that we have to win against Iran next Tuesday and we are confident that we can do so if we put in a good performance just like we did in the second half today when we were close to achieving our target.

“There is nothing to lose as both teams still have a chance to qualify and we will try our best to hold on to our chances.”

Kuwait started strongly and created the first real chance midway through the first half as Yousef Nasser guided a close range effort narrowly wide of the post.

Lebanon, though, improved as the half progressed and the visitors were denied an opening goal after 27 minutes as Kuwait goalkeeper Nawaf Al Khaldi pushed Mohamad Ghaddar’s header from Abbas Atwi’s free-kick over the crossbar.

Kuwait’s strong start to the second half was almost rewarded after 49 minutes but Hussain Fadhel failed to guide his header on target.

And Kuwait wasted another chance four minutes before the hour mark as Amer Al Fadhel’s cross was headed down by Mesaed Nada towards Saleh Al Sheikh, but with only Abbas Hassan to beat, the Lebanon goalkeeper kept the scores level.

Kuwait were almost made to pay as Lebanon finished the match strongly, but neither side was able to find a breakthrough.

“Football is a rewarding game and usually it gives back whoever puts a lot of effort,” saidKuwait coach Jorvan Vieira.

“We controlled the match tonight but we didn’t take advantage of the chances that we had especially in the first 30 minutes of the first half.”

“The result complicates our chances as we will be looking for different results now but we still have a strong chance to qualify for the Asian Cup finals and we will be fighting until the last match in the group.”