Al Yaman 1 - 7 Chinese Taipei (282771301)

It had rained all day, but 70250 hardy fans still made it out to The Red Stadium. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Al Yaman. Starters: Sulaiman - Kasraei, Al-Marwani, Al-Shami - Shushah, Al-Yaaruby, Al-Ba'dani, Bistami, Nasser - Al-Saighi, Al-Uzairy.

Chinese Taipei had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: 嘉軼 (Jiayi) - 保成 (Baocheng) , 昂 (Ang) , 昌洋 (Changyang) - 凱杰 (Kaijie) , 寶光 (Baoguang) , 秉果 (Bingguo) , 凱寜 (Kaining) , Eng Tek - 尊雄 (Zunxiong) , 志鴻 (Zhihong).

Al Yaman immediately set off using their skill at pressing their opponents. The wings were the focus of most of Chinese Taipei's attacks on this day. 楊 (Yang) 昂 (Ang) delivered a good free kick from an excellent position 4 minutes into the game, but luck wasn't on Chinese Taipei's side this time and the ball went wide. Al Yaman caught their opponents out with a clever counterattack down the right wing 5 minutes into the match. Ghassan Al-Saighi was able to finish off the move - 1 - 0. The visitors kept the pressure on to tie the game when, after 14 minutes, 蘇 (Su) 秉果 (Bingguo) broke through the centre and found himself alone with the keeper. Khaleel Ibrahim Sulaiman made a great block, though. 15 minutes into the match the visitors levelled the score at 1 - 1 as Hang Eng Tek struck home from a rebound off the crossbar, following a shot from the right. Chinese Taipei took the lead after 33 minutes with 1 - 2. 楊 (Yang) 昂 (Ang) placed the ball out of reach for the home side's keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. The away team's 馬 (Ma) 尊雄 (Zunxiong) took advantage of a mistake on the home side's right after 35 minutes which increased Chinese Taipei's lead to 1 - 3. It was 1 - 3 at the break. The forty-five minutes were dominated by Chinese Taipei, with an impressive 69 percent possession of the ball.

Al Yaman needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 46 minutes Khaleel Ibrahim Sulaiman made way for Ahmed Shadi Abu-Hussain. The Chinese Taipei players could smell victory in the air. 歐 (Ou) 凱杰 (Kaijie) wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for Li Zhi Fu after 70 minutes. Al Yaman's Ghassan Al-Saighi got himself booked for a foul. In a rapid move 75 minutes into the match, 古 (Gu) 志鴻 (Zhihong) of Chinese Taipei lost his man, passed the ball to the unmarked 馬 (Ma) 尊雄 (Zunxiong) who easily hit it home for the 1-4 goal. Al Yaman's Basheer Al-Shami was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 78 minutes. It was a bad day for the usually speedy 古 (Gu) 志鴻 (Zhihong). The mud seemed to slow him down. With 83 minutes played, a phenomenal play on the left side freed 馬 (Ma) 尊雄 (Zunxiong) , of Chinese Taipei, to dash through and score another goal for the visitors. The score was then 1 - 5. This third goal made a hat trick for 馬 (Ma) 尊雄 (Zunxiong) . With 84 minutes played, the Al Yaman coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. Issa Al-Kaleel came on, Sabri Al-Uzairy had to leave the fray. Confident in their lead, Chinese Taipei decided to play a more defensive game at this point. The bench was restless, and in the 86th minute Al Yaman's coach gave Bashir Abbas the opportunity the player had been hoping for. Badr Nasser reluctantly left the field. 86 minutes into the game, Chinese Taipei were awarded a penalty and 楊 (Yang) 昂 (Ang) was able to increase the visitors' lead to 1 - 6 rolling the ball in by the right post. Some fine manoeuvring on the left led to a Chinese Taipei goal after 87 minutes, making it 1 - 7. 馬 (Ma) 尊雄 (Zunxiong) was noted down as the scorer. This half belonged to Chinese Taipei, who controlled the ball 68 percent of the time.

Al Yaman's best player was Ahmed Shadi Abu-Hussain. Iraj Kasraei on the other hand, had a terrible day. Chinese Taipei's top performer was clearly Li Zhi Fu. 方 (Fang) 昌洋 (Changyang) turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 1 - 7.