AFC U-16 C’ship: Syria 0-0 Saudi Arabia

Bangkok: Syria and Saudi ArabiaSHARED a hard-fought goalless draw at the AFC U-16 Championship on Sunday as both sides began their campaigns in Group D with a SHARE of the spoils at Rajamangala Stadium.

Syria custodian William Ghannam was the busier of the two goalkeepers, although it was opposite number Salman Al Saeed who was the most relieved after allowing Anas Aji's first half strike to slip through his fingers only to recover just in time.

But with neither side able to find a breakthrough after the duo also shared a goalless draw during last year's qualifiers, the pair sit in a tie for second place in Group D after the opening round of fixtures following Iran's earlier 3-2 win over Qatar.

"Without doubt the first game in any tournament has a special type of pressure especially as we had not played any friendly international matches before the finals. We did, though, have a small picture of Saudi Arabia before the game as we played them in the qualifiers," said Syria coach Mohamed Al Attar, who must now prepare his side to face Qatar on Tuesday.

"We managed the rhythm of the game especially in the second half and had so many chances to make goals. Saudi Arabia are a good team and they have some good elements and also had some good chances to score.

"I am satisfied with my team. No doubt we had a higher percentage of possession and we made use of the talents of our players and had a lot of shots on goal. I am not satisfied with the end result, but one point is better than nothing."

Following a hard-fought first half of few clear-cut chances between two evenly matched sides, Saudi Arabia looked to have created an opening three minutes before half-time, but after being found in space inside the penalty area by Khalid Hazazi, Majed Al Ammari pushed his effort wide of the post with the goal seemingly at his mercy.

But it was Syria who thought they would be taking the lead into half-time as goalkeeper Al Saeed allowed Aji's rising strike from just outside the penalty area to slip through his fingers, but as Syria celebrated as the ball headed towards the goal, Saudi Arabia continued with the assistant referee on the far side of the field unmoved as the custodian recovered.

Saudi Arabia started the second half brightly with goalkeeper Ghannam kept busy inside the opening minutes, although Syria recovered as the half progressed and began to equally contribute to a hard-fought contest.

But Syria were indebted again to Ghannam with 12 minutes remaining as the goalkeeper produced a superb one-handed reflex save to palm away Rashed Al Salem's strike after the Saudi Arabia substitute had been found in space inside the penalty area.

And Syria almost took full advantage in stoppage time, but fortunately for Saudi Arabia, Majed Al Ammari was on hand to clear Mohamad Kawakbi's header off the goalline.

"The first game is always difficult for the players, but we are happy with a 0-0 draw as Syria had two good opportunities in the second half," said Saudi Arabia coach Antonio Ruiz, who must now prepare his side to face Iran on Tuesday.

"We also had two or three chances and one really good chance in the second half. It was possible to lose this game, but we did not win as Syria are a good team with good players."