Hope team hit thrice, Al-Sunaini resigns [Archives:2004/778/Sports]

By Adel Al-Khawlani
Yemen Times Staff
The hope team was drubbed 4-0 in the game that combined it and the Korean Giant, in spite of the adventurous change conducted by the Coach Amin Al-Sunaini. This was followed by a 2-0 beat by the strong Iraq. The team played against Korea with the plan (4-5-1), maintaining the side players Al-Edrisi to the right and Al-Selwi to the left, Al-Sallad and Mohannad Rajeh in the middle, and Tamer Hanash in the center forward.
On the contrary, the Koreans played with the plan (3-5-2) depending on their sound physiques and abilities. They strongly played with the intention to win the match after losing 3-0 to Iraq, who ensured an early qualification for the second round.
The tenth minute of the first half witnessed a Korean goal by the foot of Song Yong after the failure of Yasser Al-Ba'adani to save the ball. The Yemeni players attempted to change the result but with no avail; their short passes were deterred by the opponent and penetrating the Korean defense was difficult to a great extent. The second goal for the Koreans came just after three minutes from scoring the first and in the 37th minute of the same half a third Korean goal was added by Park Yong when he cleverly stole the ball away from Attia and placed it easily in the net to close the first half with Korea 3- goal lead over Yemen.
The national Coach Amin Al-Sunaini realized the wide gap during the break between the two halves and conducted somehow successful substitutions when he replaced Mohannad Rajeh by Sharyan and sent Al-Selwi to the middle instead of Waseem Al-Qa'ar who left the field. He also substituted Akram Al-Warafi for Al-Sallad who appeared in a poor level for the second time, and striker Sami Ju'aim instead of Tamer Hanash.
Our team played in a better way during the second half, particularly after sending off a Korean player. Although it proved some control over the match but it could neither pass through the Korean defense nor approach the goalkeeper. The substitutions did not change the situation except for a recurrent deterrence. In the last quarter of the game time, the Koreans waged new counteroffensive resulting in a fourth goal in the 79th minute when the same striker (Park Yong) benefited from a free kick on the verge of the eighteen area, directing the ball toward the ninety angle of Yemen's goal.

Al-Sunaini announced his resignation
The national Coach Amin Al-Sunaini declared his resignation from coaching the youth team after the 4-0 loss to Korea in a press conference held after the mach, saying that he was convinced of what he offered through leading the youth team and also while they were juniors.
“The results that I have achieved so far are considered normal and not a failure due to the huge difference in the level, experience and age between our players and others. Additionally, the rainy atmosphere in Birac did not go in our favor and our team being mated along with the strongest group in the Asian youth finals is among the reasons for the loss. I thereby apologize to the public and those who offered every sort of support and care for the team,” said Amin.
He added: “the game against Iraq will be incontestable and I am confident that the players will perform well under my Assistant, Captain Abdurrahman Sa'eed who is able to lead the team. Afterwards, the responsibility of the team was welcomed by Abdurrahman Sa'eed in the encounter against Iraq.”

The team faces Iraq:
The other scenario that combined the two Arab teams resulted in Iraq's 2-0 win over the hope team. The Iraqi Coach, whose team is officially in the second round, kept his prominent striker Musallam Al-Mass and the defenders Hafeedh Sa'ad and Rahimy Ali and send the other main players along with some new faces to encounter the Yemeni players, who joined the match with the hope of an honorable conclusion. They appeared in a level better than that of the previous match by standing on the face of Iraqi offensive players and holding off several balls.
The recurrent coordinated Iraqi offensives yielded a goal in minute 33 of the first half through give and take passes between Mohammad Jawadel and Hasan Heider who confused the less experienced defenders.
During the first thirty minutes of the second half, our team played better than the Iraqis, especially with Akram Al-Selwi and Sami Ju'aim joining the game. However, their several offensives could not succeed in shaking the Iraqi net owing to some confusion among the players and their inability to cope with the sound fitness of Iraqis. Within the final minutes, the Iraqi team resumed control over the game that enabled striker Eesa Ali to score another goal to end the match with Iraq 2-0 ahead.
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[archive-e:778-v:13-y:2004-d:2004-10-04-p:sports]