Host Saudi Arabia shared two goals and points with Qatar in the third round of the AFC Asian qualifiers for the 2012 Olympics at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh Wednesday. Striker Yahiya Deghriry put the home side ahead in the 12th minute while midfielder Ahmed Al-Nahawi of Qatar leveled the score a minute before the final whistle. Saudis went on attack from the start and the home team spoiled numerous real chances to score in the first ten minutes. The weak Qatari defense helped the Saudis threaten the visitors more often. The most dangerous of those attempts was through midfielder Yahiya Al-Shihri, who kicked from a close range in the eighth minute. However, the Qatari goalkeeper, Sa'ad Al-Sheeb found himself in the right place to disappoint Al-Shihri. Four minutes later, Deghriry chased midfielder Ibrahim Ghalib's long pass and beat Al-Sheeb to put Saudi Arabia in the lead. Following the goal, the Qataris seriously began to attack and Saudi defense began to wilt under pressure. After the break, the visitors tried their level best to equalize, but Saudi midfielders Nawaf Al-Abed and Ghalib were performing well in the area, nipping the danger in the bud. Their efforts helped reduce pressure on goalkeeper Ibrahim Za'id. In the 70th minute, Saudis could have doubled the score had not Al-Sheeb wonderfully thwarted an attempt by Salman Al-Subiyani after a one-two pass with Deghriry. Six minutes later, Qatari midfielder Abdul Aziz Hatem was about to score an equalizer but Za'id bravely frustrated the attempt. In the 89rd minute, Saudi defender Salman Al-Faraj made a mistake outside the box. Following the foul kick, Nahawi took advantage of the disjointed Saudi defense to head in the equalizer. Although entrance to the stadium was announced to be free to support the Saudi team, only 1,315 fans were counted in the 70,000 capacity stadium. Elsewhere, Asian giants Japan and South Korea cantered to home wins while Australia fired blanks in a dour draw with UAE. Japan beat Malaysia 2-0 while South Korea blanked Oman. Uzbekistan beat Iraq 2-0 in Tashkent and Syria defeated Bahrain 3-1 in a qualifier played in Jordan. The twelve teams jostling for a berth at the London Games are divided into three groups of four and play each other home and away. The winners qualify for the Olympics automatically, while runners-up in each group play a three-way round-robin. The winner of that contest enters a play-off with a side from the African confederation to advance to next summer's showpiece event. Men's football is played as an under-23 tournament at the Olympics, although the rules allow for three over-age players. The group stage wraps up in March next year. __
