Hong Kong China 1 – 5 Oman
The first match of Day 3 of the Men’s Asian Games Qualifier.
They were playing the first of Pool A against the last of Pool A.
Oman started the match not even allowing HKC to react, very withdrawn at the back trying to defend, they allowed Khalid AL SHAAIBI to go with the ball to the end line to just pass the keeper and push it gently into the goal.
6 minutes later the Reds found a penalty corner that was poorly taken, but managed to find Oman’s captain AL LAUN Sami, to put the ball into the net after it passed between the legs of goalkeeper Kam-Tai Chan.
A minute later Fahad AL LAWATI managed to deflect the ball into the circle and lifted it into the net to put his team up 3-0.
At the start of the second quarter, HKC tried to close the gap on the scoreboard, but 2 minutes into the second quarter Khalid AL SHAAIBI grabbed a loose ball outside the box and fired a rocket that ricocheted off the boards of the opposing goal.
It wasn’t until the 41st minute that Kulwant Dillon’s team scored through penalty corner shooter Ching Ho to make the score 4-1.
The game was tilted towards the team in red, but HKC kept trying to attack and score. But in the 55th minute Rashad Al Fazari managed after several rebounds and confusion inside the area to push it into the goal to close the final score 5-1.
The best player of the match was Khalid Al SHAAIBI who scored 2 goals.
Hong Kong China will play against Kazakhstan on May 10 in Pool A. Oman as Pool A leader will play against Thailand who is 3rd so far.
Uzbekistan 3 – 3 Kazakhstan
In the second match of the day we had an action packed show.
The 2nd team played against the 4th team of Pool A. With a lot at stake, the match started off very even, with both teams trying to break the opposing team’s defense.
It was a back and forth game, where both teams had chances throughout the 60 minutes, but it wasn’t until the end of the 1st quarter that Tilek Uzbek who was the penalty corner server grabbed the ball after a rebound and flicked it into the top of the net defended by Davlat Tolibbaev.
The game seemed to be all yellow and this could be seen both in the 24th and 30th minute, where the advantage could be seen in the game. When Agymtay Duisengazy received the ball next to the goal and “spooned” it up making it impossible for the goalkeeper and the players inside the goal to stop it, the third goal of Kazakhstan came from a carelessness of the defense, where Aman Yelubayev was faster than everyone else and deflected a ball coming from a corner sneaking into the goal.
At the end of the second quarter, the Yellows were leading 3-0 and had a chance to score more goals. But it was a change of attitude and luck for the team in white, which allowed them to score 5 minutes into the 3rd quarter after a rebound from a penalty corner for Islombek Mamajonov, who was in the right place to push the ball into the goal.
The men in white wanted to turn the result around and tried in every possible way to break Kazakhstan’s defense. It was not until the 45th minute (with the time already expired) that the team in white got a penalty corner where Shokhrukhbek Salimjonov shot a strong shot to the goalkeeper’s left post that was impossible to save. Thus, they went to the break of the 3rd quarter with the match 3-2.
In the last quarter of the match the yellows had to hold the result and the whites wanted to attack and equalize the match, both had chances, but the luck went to Gaybullo Khaytboev who in front of the defensive distraction of the team led by Okhunjon Mirzakarimov managed to find a direct shot into the box to deflect it and put it into the goal.
The match ended 3-3 with both teams looking to win it until the last minute, but it was all over.
Kazakhstan will play Hong Kong China on May 10 and Uzbekistan will play Oman on May 12.
The best player of the match was Ruslan Satlikov who has been one of the most important players and who pushes the team in white in every match.
Indonesia 0 – 0 Singapore
At the end of the day, in the last match, Indonesia and Singapore would face each other in Pool B.
Both in 3rd and 4th place respectively in the last places of the group, they would face each other in a match that could have helped some of them to score more points to stay in the race.
Under a torrential rain that broke out at the end of the day, the match started with both teams trying to advance into the opposing areas to take the lead as quickly as possible.
Both teams had several peanlty corners that allowed them to get close to the goal, but without being able to score.
Both Singapore and Indonesia got their first point in this tournament after both lost their first matches.
Singapore will play against Bangladesh on May 12 for Pool B, while Indonesia will play the same day but against Sri Lanka to define Pool B positions.
Player of the Match was Mochamad Fathur, one of the most influential players of the match who did everything he could to help his team score.
