Suriname 2 - 3 Bahrain (282771563)

The weather was pretty good, and a crowd of 95680 had shown up at Winston Churchill arena for the match. Suriname started off with a 4-5-1 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Leerdam - Elia, Kannappan, Tuur, Leeuwin - Westzaam, Gawali, Neral, Serkei, Lewono - Bouterse.

Bahrain had chosen a strategic 2-5-3 formation. Starters: Kanoo - Al Sawaidi, Al-Akram - AL-Mannai, Tousi, Mahmoud, Shariff, Musa - Haj-Najjar, Khoury, Rahman.

Suriname were relying on their ability to counter-attack. Bahrain displayed their ability to play creatively. Suriname's Gersom Bouterse demonstrated his experience by getting into a good position and being the first to react on a rebound off a savage shot that could only be parried by the opposing goalkeeper. His goal 12 minutes into the match made the score 1 - 0. A cross coming in on the right hand side left Ihsan AL-Mannai alone in front of the goal after 20 minutes but his shot was woeful. An equalising goal seemed certain after 26 minutes when Amjad Al Sawaidi came down the left side, but Destus Leerdam just managed the save. A great pass from the defensive line of Suriname resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by Shakra Serkei in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. The home side's Bruce Westzaam came close to extending the lead 31 minutes into the game. His shot came in from the right hand side but Masrur Kanoo managed to save it with an unbelievable reaction stop. Despite having a free kick in a decent position 34 minutes in, Bahrain tried a variation that brought the ball through to the other end of the penalty area. However, Osman Rahman did not manage to connect with it, as his team mates had hoped, and the ball went out. Suriname caught their opponents out with a clever counterattack down the right wing 35 minutes into the match. Coly Lewono was able to finish off the move - 2 - 0. Halftime score was 2 - 0. The forty-five minutes were dominated by Bahrain, with an impressive 57 percent possession of the ball.

The bench was restless, and in the 46th minute Bahrain's coach gave 贺 (He) 崇康 (Chongkang) the opportunity the player had been hoping for. Amjad Al Sawaidi reluctantly left the field. 48 minutes into the match, Bahrain replied and reduced the lead to 2 - 1. Naser Ahmad Al-Akram scored on a marvellous cross pass coming in from the left. Vidyaranya Gawali almost managed to score another goal for Suriname, coming from the right, but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors' keeper. 62 minutes into the match, Bahrain's Osman Rahman popped up from nowhere, cheekily stole the ball off an opposition player and scored. 2 - 2. Destus Leerdam looked great 63 minutes into the match after stopping a shot by the visitors' Adnan Musa. After 70 minutes, the Bahrain coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving Hussein Khoury off the field. Ghassan Mahmoud took his place. Intentions were certainly good, but the Bahrain indirect free kick combination after 72 minutes was easily anticipated by the defenders. That was a textbook example of how to defend a free kick - the attackers were left with few viable options. The defensive line of Suriname created a counterattack through the middle that gave Vidyaranya Gawali a good look at the goal, but his shot glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. Bahrain took the lead after 79 minutes with 2 - 3. Kedar Haj-Najjar placed the ball out of reach for the home side's keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. Although the whole team were struggling to impress, Suriname's Coly Lewono was singled out as being the problem as he was called off the pitch after 80 minutes. Sergio Reidewald was given a chance to change things around. Content with how the game was proceeding, the Bahrain coach let Davoud Roshan replace Iman Tousi after 85 minutes. Bahrain held the ball, with a clear 58 percent of possession.

Most important Suriname player was Gersom Bouterse. On the other hand, Sergio Reidewald's play was disheartening. The most dominating Bahrain player was without a doubt Kedar Haj-Najjar. 贺 (He) 崇康 (Chongkang) was a disappointment, however. The match ends 2 - 3.