BUSAN, South Korea, Oct 5 (AFP) - Defending champions
Iran clinched their place in the quarter-finals of the Asian Games
football tournament on Saturday after drawing 1-1 with Qatar but they were
lucky to escape with a point from a lacklustre display.
The draw meant they won Group E and will now face either Kuwait or North
Korea for a place in the semi-finals.
Qatar will consider themselves unlucky to have been eliminated after
taking the lead, hitting the woodwork and then seeing Iran goalkeeper
Ebrahim Mirzapour pull off two fine second half saves to keep his team in
the hunt.
The Gulf side made the brighter start and were unfortunate when Wesam
Rizik's right foot shot in the 29th minute took a deflection and came off
the post.
But they deservedly took the lead three minutes later when defender
Ibrahim Al-Ghanim was first to Bilal's Abuhamda's cross to steer the ball
past Mirzapour.
In the joy of celebrating their goal, they lost their concentration and
two minutes later they failed to clear their lines and Ali Badavi drove
the ball home through a pack of defenders.
After the interval, Qatar poured forward as Iran, who started the match
with both Ali Daei and Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht, were forced to defend in
numbers and they were indebted to Mirzapour.
First, the goalkeeper saved Ahmed Musa's fierce right-foot drive in the
54th minute before he repeated the heroics by keeping out an Abuhamda
effort.
In the other match in the group, Afghanistan were handed another mauling
when they lost 11-0 to Lebanon.
The defeat was their third in three games in which they conceded 32 goals
and failed to score one.