UAE 0-1 Iraq

AFC – DOHA, Iraq put themselves in control of their own destiny at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ after a last-gasp Walid Abbas own goal handed the reigning champions a 1-0 win over UAE at Al Rayyan Stadium on Saturday.

Both sides had numerous chances to score and often found themselves denied by the woodwork, but it was UAE defender Abbas who gave Iraq the three points by poking the ball into his own net when attempting to cut out a cross in the third minute of stoppage time.

Iraq now have three points in Group D and will progress to the quarter-finals if they avoid defeat in their next game against DPR Korea.

Wolfgang Sidka’s side had started brightly and created the first chance after seven minutes when Mahdi Kareem sent a cross from the left that Hawar Mohammed headed over the crossbar.

It took until the 23rd minute for the UAE to forge their first opportunity when Subait Khater’s corner was headed onto the post by Hamdan Al Kamali.

That chance seemed to galvanise the Emiratis and they started to dictate play, producing another chance midway through the half when Khater’s rasping free-kick was held by Iraq keeper Mohammed Kassid before Ismail Al Hammadi’s shot flew over the bar.

But Iraq weathered that spell of pressure and finished strongly as Nashat Akram’s shot from outside the area was denied by Majed Nasser and from the resulting corner, Akram crashed a header against the crossbar.

The balance of play swung back in favour of the UAE after the restart as Khater saw his free kick denied by Kasser before the woodwork then twice ensured the scores remained level.

First, Iraq’s Samal Saeed saw his header bounce back off the bar before  Ismail Al Hammadi also rattled the frame of the goal with a powerful drive after getting the better of two defenders with some smart individual skill.

Iraq controlled the game in the last half hour and nearly scored in the 78th minute when a shot from second-half substitute Mustafa Kareem flew just wide, seconds before Saeed’s header also failed to find the target.

But the Iraqis scored the winning goal deep in stoppage time when Younus Mahmood received the ball from the right before playing a ball across the face of goal which was deflected by Abbas into his own net.