AYG Football: Saudi Arabia beat brave Laos in match marred by unsporting spectators

Story by Gerald Goh/Red Sports. Pictures by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports.

Jalan Besar Stadium, Tuesday, June 30, 2009 - Hat-trick hero Alnakhli Mohammed Qasem helped Saudi Arabia to a comprehensive 4-1 triumph over Laos, but the game was soured by the continual, unjustified booing of the Saudi supporters.

Despite the lopsided scoreline, valiant Laos gave Saudi Arabia a run for their money straight from the kick-off, as they displayed the aggression and hunger that had been conspicuously absent from their 8-1 drubbing at the hands of South Korea.

Laos' Sanasouk Pavanna surged into the box in the 2nd minute and cut the ball back, but no one was on the end of it.

Saudi Aldini Waleed Omar then stole possession from his marker, feeding a dipping cross to Alnakhli, who opened accounts inside of ten minutes with a precision header.

Laos' defender Phoutthasin Soutthiyananouth was shortly called upon to stop a certain goal with his chest as the Laotian defence was caught ball-watching. As the Laos players poured forward in search of an equaliser, they forced the Saudis to concede three corners in under a minute.

Aldawsari Mohammed Saeed was subsequently cautioned for blatantly hauling down Laos' Souksavanh Somsanith as he bore down on goal, which will mean a suspension for the Saudi defender in their final Group B qualifier.

Against the run of play, Saudi Arabia doubled their lead as Alnakhli spun away from his opponent in the 27th minute, looked up and let fly with a screamer, giving Laos' Southakone Thammada no chance.

Laos again attempted to muster a reply, as a series of intricate passes found the ball at the feet of Lembo Saysana, whose crack at goal beat ´keeper Masrahi Nawaf Ali but not the post.

Laos were duly rewarded soon after, as Phoutthasay Khochaleru's pin-point pass picked out Souksavanh via a lay-off. The Laotian forward then swung a curler past Masrahi, sinking to his knees and kissing the turf as the Laotian fans went delirious.

Minutes later, Lembo found himself one-on-one with Masrahi, forcing the Saudi gatekeeper to produce an acrobatic save with the ball narrowly avoiding a ricochet into the net.

The second half saw Laos begin as they had ended the first, dominating play and pushing the Saudis back. However, the Saudi support did themselves no honours as they began booing derisively at every Laotian player's touch of the ball. Lembo then sprung the offside trap to find only Masrahi in his way, but his toe-poke was magnificently scrambled away by the ´keeper's legs.

With the booing getting louder and more frequent, a quick Saudi counter-attack ended with substitute Almuwallad Abdulaziz Sulaiman beating his marker for pace, then halting for a split second before lifting a poised shot over the despairing Southakone.

Despite their commanding lead, the Saudis still found it hard to cope with the Laos players' snapping at their heels, with Alnakhli's blatant dive in the 67th minute bringing immediate retribution in the form of a caution.

As the Laotians continued to throw bodies into the fray, heedless of fatigue or injury, it was left to Alnakhli to deliver the coup de grace, turning in the box and smashing an unstoppable thunderbolt into the net to make it 4-1.

Despite their ungraceful treatment at the hands of the Saudi fans, the Laotian players still found the dignity to bow in respect to their victorious opponents, displaying quiet humility to rise above the petty abuse hurled at them.

Laotian manager Alex Tuan Tran believed his side was still in with a shout after Souksavanh had pulled a goal back for Laos and Lembo had missed a golden opportunity to level the score. "If we scored (and made it) 2-2, I believe we should have had a chance to win. It was the changing point."

Regarding the Saudi supporters' less-than-savoury behaviour, Alex diplomatically replied that the numerical superiority of the Saudis was probably a main factor, and that the Laos team would look to the future. "We hope to be better for the SEA games (in Laos), (as) the players will be over 23 years old, so they will be one step up."