Beshi (L) and teammate Osama Mabrouk (R) fight for the ball with Kuwait's Youssef Al-Suliman in Abyan Thursday. (Reuters)JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait shared the spoils after playing out a goalless draw in Gulf Cup Tournament encounter at Al-Wehda Stadium in Abyan Thursday. The second match saw Qatar beat Yemen 2-1 to revive its Cup hopes. Despite the draw, the Saudi team remains on top of its group with four points, followed by Kuwait which has the same number of points, but has a 3-goal difference. On a day when both the teams missed the target on numerous occasions, Saudi skipper Mohammed Al-Shalhoub missed a penalty kick a minute before time. Having played more than 33 matches, the two teams knew each other inside out. They started cautiously until the seventh minute when Saudi defender Osama Al-Muallad shot from outside the area, the ball whizzing past the left post of Kuwaiti keeper Nawaf Al-Khalidy. The Saudi side kept attacking its rival, whose defense line stood firm throughout. The skillful Kuwaiti midfielder, Fahd Al-Enezi, proved to be a headache for the Greens. Saudi keeper Assaf Al-Qarni managed to foil an attempt from inside the 6-yard area by striker Hamad Naif in the 30th minute. Kuwait again missed a chance to score three minutes before the break when Enezi deftly sent a pass to unmarked striker Yousuf Nasser on the 18-yard line, but the latter kicked it straight into the hands of the Saudi keeper. The Kuwaitis came from break all fired up and both the coaches made changes to their squads midway through the second half. The Saudis had a close call when Kuwait's Khalaf shot over the bar in the 84th minute. The Greens responded with a missed opportunity from their side when they managed to go deep into Kuwaiti area but Mohanned Aseeri was pulled down. Kuwaiti keeper Al-Khalidy, however, managed to stop the resulting spot kick. Qatar had lost its first match to Kuwait and had to win the match if it wanted to make the semifinals here. Yemen, however, took the lead in the 18th minute through Akram Al-Warafi to pile pressure on the Qataris. But Qatar hit back with Jarralla Al-Marri finding the net twice to ease the pressure on coach Bruno Metsu. The group stage now heads for a thrilling finish with Qatar taking on Saudi Arabia and Kuwait meeting Yemen Sunday. Two teams each from Group A and B will qualify for the semifinals to be played on Dec. 2. The final will be played on Dec. 4.
