Monday, Sep 23, 2013
Dubai: Coach Marcelo Mendes was left ruing missed opportunities as the UAE suffered a 3-2 defeat to hosts Tahiti in their round-robin opener of the 2013 Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup in Papeete, French Polynesia on Friday.
Played before a raucous home crowd, the UAE took their time to settle in, and before they could do so, Tahiti was already two goals clear with Raimoana Bennett and local star Teva Zaveroni getting their names on the scoresheet.
Raimana Li Fung Kuee made it 3-0 midway through the second period, only to see the visitors find their rhythm and pull two goals back near the end of the second period through Hassan Al Hammadi and Haitham Al Ka’abi.
In the final period, backed by their enthusiastic band of supporters, the hosts fell back into defensive mode to stay one win away from an historic entry into the knock-out stages.
“This was a match that should have been won had we started on the right, confident note,” Mendes said.
“I liked the way our boys fought back with those two goals late in the second period. But we were unlucky we could not score in the final period. This is not the end of the world. We’ve got to learn from our mistakes and ensure we don’t commit them again in our next match,” the coach added.
The UAE will next play against Spain on Sunday with kick-off at 6am UAE time.
By Alaric Gomes Senior Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
