AFC Cup:” lack of concentration cost us in the second half”, says Makhlouf

Kuwait City: Kuwait Sports Club opened up a decisive advantage at the top of Group B in the AFC Cup after a late brace by Issam Jemaa lifted the defending champions to a 2-0 win over Syrian champions Al Jaish at Kuwait SC stadium on Wednesday.

The Tunisian, who was the tournament’s leading scorer with 16 goals last season, had failed to find the net in Kuwait SC’s opening three games but he regained his scoring touch as he netted goals in the 67th minute and in stoppage time to give his club their third win in four games, reports the AFC correspondent.

The victory moved Kuwait SC up to nine points, four ahead of Lebanese side Nejmeh and Oman’s Fanja, who played out a goalless draw in the other Group B game on Tuesday.

“We achieved an important victory which strengthened our position to qualify for the knockout stage of this competition,” said Kuwait SC coach Marin Ion. “We faced an organised side who had a good performance in the first half in all the positions.

“But we successfully opened the Al Jaish defence in the second half and I want to thank our players for their good concentration. We are currently going through a tough period and I hope that we can continue our good performances in the next matches.”

Kuwait SC had the upper hand in the early minutes but Al Jaish stood firm and gradually began to get into the match as they tried to create some danger although they failed to really threaten Musab Al Kandari’s goal.

The Syrian side continued to improve in the second half as they enjoyed more possession. But while Kuwait SC struggled to contain them at times, they would finally break the deadlock against the run of play.

Midway through the second half, Husain Hakim fired a powerful free-kick from distance which was parried by Al Jaish goalkeeper Taha Mousa. The ball fell inside the box to Hadi Khamees who crossed for Jemaa to head into the net.

Kuwait SC added an insurance goal in stoppage time when Iran international midfielder Javad Nekounam flicked on a corner towards Jemaa who back-heeled the ball into the net.

“We had a powerful performance in the first half and we managed to finish the first half with a positive result as we showed our best possible performance. We stopped the key players of Kuwait SC for more than an hour,” said Al Jaish coach Anas Makhlouf.

 “In the second half things changed and Kuwait SC took advantage of the chances they had to score two goals. I’m satisfied with the performance in the first half but lack of concentration cost us in the second half.

M. Daoud