Bahrain earn draw in Uzbekistan
8 October 2005
by AFP
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FIFA World Cup™ hopefuls Uzbekistan and Bahrain played out a 1-1 draw in Tashkent in the rematch of the first leg of their Asian zone play-off match on Saturday.
The match was replayed following a refereeing error in the original fixture where Japanese match official Toshimitsu Yoshida incorrectly awarded Bahrain an indirect free-kick after an Uzbek player encroached into the penalty area before Server Djeparov converted a first-half spot-kick for the home side.
Bahrain got off to a lively start through Talal Mohamed, who dribbled into the hosts' box from the left flank to beat Uzbekistan 'keeper Evgeni Safonov with a precise shot on 17 minutes.
Uzbekistan, however, wasted no time in pulling the scores level and Dynamo Kiev marksman Maksim Shatskikh sent the ball home with a header from a team-mate's cross from the left only two minutes later.
After the interval the hosts upped the tempo and pinned Bahrain back. However, the visitors held their nerve at the back, soaking up attacks and replying on the counterattack.
The second leg of the two-legged tie will be played in Manama on 12 October and the winners will play the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF region for the right to go through to Germany 2006.