Khalfan Mubarak scored a penalty five minutes from time for the UAE to salvage a 1-1 draw against Australia in their Group B opener in the AFC Under 19 Championship in Yangon, Myanmar, on Friday.
Australia led through a 79th-minute strike from Brandon Borrello, only to surrender the lead six minutes later.
"Australia are a very good team, one of the best in the tournament. They are physically and tactically better than us, but it was our first match and both teams wanted to win but neither wanted to lose," said Abdullah Misfir, the UAE coach.
“We had some chances but our tactics were to close the game down in the first half and make it difficult for Australia before opening up and looking for a result in the second period.”
The UAE meet Uzbekistan on Sunday. Uzbekistan top Group B after beating Indonesia 3-1 on Friday.
“It was tough for a number of our players who in the first-half found it difficult to get in and behind the opposition’s line of defence, especially as the UAE looked to sit back and play on the counter-attack,” said Paul Okon, the Australia coach.
“I’m satisfied with the players’ efforts. We had some good opportunities and we gave away a silly penalty,” said Paul Okon, the Australia coach. “The result was disappointing but not the effort from the players, which was encouraging.”
apassela@thenational.ae
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