Football: UAE go down fighting against Australia

UAE midfielder Omar Abdulrahman vies for the ball against Australia Mathew Leckie during their Asian 2018 World Cup qualifying match at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Australia's Tim Cahill came as a substitute and scored the only goal of the Fifa World Cup qualifiers match at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Whites were error-strewn boys with best intentions but no bottle. The score could have been different had the UAE finishing been clinical.
The much-anticipated match was played at a brisk pace and both the teams were fighting for three points. UAE talisman Omar Abdulrahman produced some breathtaking stuff. And Ismail Al Hammadi was a busy body throughout. However, star of the Japan match Ahmed Khalil failed to find range on most occasions. Ali Mabkhout squandered a host of chances and wasn't at the right places when opportunity existed. Keeper Khalid Eisa had a fantastic outing and thwarted away many posers with ease.
In the absence of injured skipper Mile Jedinak, it was Baniyas man Mark Milligan, who led the Australian side.
The twelfth man worked overtime. Supporters in their thousands goaded the Whites throughout to 'shoot'. And a sparsely Australian fan also made their presence felt.
In the first half, Omar Abdulrahman produced a gem of a pass to Ali Mabkhout but the Al Jazira striker was closed down by defenders Matthew Spiranovic and Trent Sainsbury. 'Amoory' churned out some threatening deliveries and Ismail Al Hammadi connected one with a thunderous volley but missed the target.
At the other end, Australia had two chances gone awry. First was a corner in the 16th minute that saw Matthew Spiranovic's shot being parried away by Khalid Eisa. A minute later, Tomi Juric and Robbie Kruse combined in a one-two, which saw the latter's shot being saved by an athletic Eisa.
Malaysian referee Mohd Bin Yaacob was very generous and both teams escaped a couple of bookings. In the 24th minute, the UAE caoch Mahdi Ali was forced to make a substitution and Abdulaziz Hussain replaced an injured Mohamed Ahmad.
Australian keeper Maty Ryan was living dangerously, often joining his defenders and it was Khamis Ismail, who caught him off guard in the 36th minute but he couldn't find the range.
The Socceroos had a spate of attacks but the UAE bulwark checked each and every one of them. Just at the stroke of half-time, a diving Eisa kept out a well-targeted shot by Tommy Rogic.
At the other end, Ahmed Khalil was in a good position to feed Ali Mabkhout to net but failed with the final delivery. It was an even game at half time.
The match resumed with players showing more desperation. Tommy Rogic was engaged in a rough tackle and got a yellow. Khamis Ismail, too, got into a spat with Mathew Leckie.
Another tackle earned the Whites a free-kick and Khalil was on target but found Ryan too. It was the 59th minute that saw and end-to-end stuff. It started with Aaron Mooy hitting the post out of a scrappy play by the UAE and at the other end, a sprinting Mabkhout connected onto an Ismail Al Hammadi delivery but failed in generating power or direction.
With 30 minutes to go, Khalil was replaced with Mohamed Abdulrahman. Australia too made a change. In the 71st minute, walked in Tim Cahill. And he made an impact after four minutes. It was poor defending by the UAE as the Melbourne City striker was left unmarked and he made the UAE pay with a class finish. In a desperate attempt, the coach replaced Amer with Salem Saleh. The UAE played with more intent with new injection but failed to convert.
The UAE were hit but they continued to move forward and in the dying moments, they got a free kick. Omar stepped in and the whole stadium waited. However, his delivery hit the wall and thus, the Whites chances too. The UAE are not there yet but are surely much closer than they were last Thursday. At the end, the players were desolate and so was the nation.