Bader Al Mutawa, scorer of the stunning goal that earned Kuwait a draw against the UAE, called the clash between the two "a beautiful match" and admitted that his team had to withstand heavy pressure in the second half as fatigue set in.
“It was a great match against the cup holder UAE,” said Al Mutawa, one of the standout players on the pitch.
“We started the match in excellent fashion, but after that we lost our way a little.
“The UAE took advantage of our state for the next 15 minutes, we gave them the space they were looking for.
“Until the 35th minute it was their match. They scored two goals and could have finished it.”
The Kuwaiti forward was full of praise for his teammates’ response after the UAE’s devastating start.
“After the UAE’s two goals, our boys really stepped up, they were real men on the pitch,” Al Mutawa said.
“We managed to level the match in two minutes, but that demanded a lot of energy from us. In the second half you could see that we were tired.
“Our first match against Iraq was really tough, we scored a late goal, and today, after the first half, we tried to play smart. It was hard to pull it back from two down, so we were a little cautious afterwards.
“We were looking to play on the break. But one point is better than nothing.”
Al Mutawa insisted that Kuwait should not be celebrating a point just yet.
“I’d say congratulations to both teams for such a beautiful match,” he said. “The UAE played a very big match and the way the Kuwaiti team came back was great. Nothing has been decided yet, it’s all down to the last day.”
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