Round two of AFC qualifying started off today with two interesting matches setting up close ties and one potential blowout.Singapore continued their improbable run to the third round of Asian qualifying with a two-goal shutout victory at home to Tajikistan. In fact, the Tajikis switched goalkeepers in the second half in order to cope with the Singaporean onslaught. Singapore are the only lower seed to advance to round two and look to the return leg to pull off another upset victory.
Regarding the play of the Bosnian-born goal scorer Duric, Singapore's coach Avramovic said, "He showed us his quality, some great passing and good positioning and did very well with both goals." Still, Avramovic saw room for improvement. "It was a good game. We knew we had to score some early goals to take into the second leg to have a chance of reaching the third round. I'm just disappointed we missed so many chances."
In the debut for Indonesia, they succumbed to their guests, the Syrians. Syria are the highest seeded team playing in the second round, and they asserted their dominance today with a 4-1 victory, including a back-breaker in second-half stoppage time. Indonesia now have a nearly impossible comeback on their hands as they are down three goals and need to score at least four on the road in order to survive.
The final match of the day involved Thailand visiting Yemen. The visitors took a 1-0 first-half lead behind a strike from Asia's top goal-scorer Chaikamdee only to watch it vanish within five minutes. No more goals were netted in the remainder of the match, but Ali Omqi did get sent off for Yemen and will not be available for the return match.
The second round continues tomorrow with Hong Kong hosting Turkmenistan. All four ties wrap up on November 18th.
Goal scorers:
Thailand: Chaikamdee 39
Yemen: Al Nono 43
Syria: Issmael 17; Al Zeno 34; Chaabo 44; Rafe 90+3
Indonesia: Sudarsono 37 PK
Singapore: Duric 24, 44
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