Asian Cup: Iraq 1 UAE 0

A Waleed Abbas own goal handed reigning Asian Cup champions Iraq a last-gasp 1-0 victory over the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.

In an entertaining encounter full of goalmouth action, both sides struck the woodwork twice and seemed destined to share the spoils before the unfortunate Abbas turned a cross into the back of his own net.

Knowing that a win would take them second in Group D, Iraq came out the stronger of the two sides and had three chances on goal before the UAE managed a single shot.

Mahdi Karim and Hawar Mulia Mohammed were both busy early while Younis Mahmoud, scorer of Iraq’s goal in their 2-1 loss to Iran on Tuesday, looked threatening.

But after 10 minutes of Iraq dominance, the UAE fought back impressively.

Moments after Ismail Matar’s shot flashed wide, Hamdan Al Kamali was just inches away from giving the underdogs the lead.

The defender charged to the near post to meet the ball but saw his glancing header thud into the woodwork, with Subait Khater unable to turn in the rebound.

It was a warning sign to Iraq, who could have been behind again when Ahmed Khalil wasted his header from just six yards out while Khater’s 30-yard curling free-kick was tipped over by Mohammed Gassid in the Iraq goal.

Having soaked up plenty of pressure, Iraq should have hit the lead through Nashat Akram after 38 minutes, but his close-range header smashed into the bar.

Three minutes later and the UAE were saved by the woodwork again, this time following a scorching shot from Qusay Munir, whose swerving strike beat Nasser and smacked into the post.

Both sides were eager to get on the front foot after the interval, but it was Iraq’s Samal Saaed who wasted a golden opportunity in the 55th minute when he saw his free header sail over the bar.

The woodwork again came into play, this time to deny the UAE’s Ismail Al Hammadi who beat a trio of defenders before launching a shot from a tight angle that shaved the crossbar.

The attacking bursts continued as Iraq’s Alaa Abdul Zahra had a header cleared off the line by Khalid Sebil while substitute Mustafa Karim went close and Saeed wasted another free header.

It seemed as if Iraq had just wasted too many opportunities to score, but disaster struck for the UAE in the third minute of injury time.

Mahmoud displayed a neat first touch to take down a ball from the left before hitting a ball across goal intended for his strike partner.

But the unfortunate Abbas, attempting to intercept the cross, saw the ball end up in his own net, sparking wild celebrations among the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium crowd.

The goal was a cruel blow to the UAE who had deserved a point, but they could not fashion a reply in the generous seven minutes of injury time.

The result leaves Iraq second in the Group D standings on four points, two behind leaders Iran. The UAE are bottom of the group with just one point from two matches.