PETALING JAYA (15 Nov 2013) – It was a Friday to forget for ASEAN teams in the Asian Cup qualifier as they all crashed out to put their hopes of qualifying for Australia in 2015 in further jeopardy.
Malaysia had a miscued clearance from defender Mohd Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak to blame for their 1-0 loss to Bahrain at the Manama National Stadium while Indonesia’s lapse in concentration at the tail end of the first half cost them 1-0 to China at the Shanxi Stadium in Xian.
Vietnam fell 3-0 to Uzbekistan at the My Dinh National Stadium while Iran beat Thailand with the same score line at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok. Singapore simply had no answer when they were thrashed 4-0 by Syria at the PAS Stadium in Tehran.
In Manama, the Malaysians put up a sea of blue to deny Bahrain for long periods, before an error from Mohd Aidil in making a clearance in the 71st minute, allowed Ismail Abdul Latif to unleash a stiff grounder to beat Khairul Fahmi Che Mat.
With the win, Bahrain moved up to top Group D with ten points as Malaysia remained on third and Qatar second. Anchored at the bottom of the group is Yemen.
In Xian, China beat Indonesia 1-0 at the Shanxi Stadium with the only goal of the game coming through Wu Lei in the 45th minute. With the loss, Indonesia remained at the bottom of Group B.
In Tehran, Singapore fell 4-0 to Syria at the PAS Stadium with goals from Sanharib Malki in the tenth minute, Ahmad Aldouni in the 83rd minute, Ouday Abdul Jaffal in the 86th minute and Abdulfatah Al Agha in the 90th minute.
In Bangkok, Iran beat Thailand 3-0 at the Rajamangala Stadium with goals from Ashkan Dejagah in the 29th minute, Reza Ghoochannejhad in the 43rd minute and Alireza Jahanbakhsh in the 90th minute.
The only high point for the homesters was the red card on Thailand’s Phuwadol Suwannachart right at the end.
In Hanoi, Vietnam fall 3-0 to Uzbekistan at the My Dinh National Stadium.
Vokhid Shodiev blasted in the lead after 40 minutes to be followed by goals from Igor Sergeev (46th minute) and Sardor Rashidov (90th minute). A red card right at the end on Vietnam’s Le Tan Tai reflected the frustration of the home team.
