Duric nets World Cup qualifier win for Singapore
(Adds matches, byline)
By Martin Petty
BANGKOK, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Bosnian-born Aleksandar Duric marked a
dream debut with two first-half goals to give Singapore a 2-0
victory over Tajikistan in the second round of Asia's World Cup
qualifiers on Friday.
The 37-year-old Duric, the top scorer in the Singaporean league,
got the hosts off the mark on 25 minutes and added his second on
the stroke of halftime.
The Southeast Asian champions, who lost five of their six
qualifiers for the 2006 finals, held the advantage right to the end
after squandering a series of second-half chances.
Singapore's Serbian coach Radojko Avramovic heaped praise on Duric,
who was only recently granted Singaporean citizenship having lived
in the city-state for seven years.
"He showed us his quality, some great passing and good positioning
and did very well with both goals," Avramovic told Reuters.
"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."
Syria beat one-time World Cup qualifiers Indonesia 4-1 in Jakarta
to take a sizable advantage into next week's second leg.
Feras Ismail put Syria ahead on 17 minutes and Mohamed al Zeno made
it 2-0 in the 27th minute.Budi Sudersono reduced the deficit for
Indonesia with a 37th-minute penalty but Ziad Charbo found the net
just before the break to leave the hosts with a mountain to
climb.
INDONESIAN STAND-OFF
Striker Raja Rafe scored in the 90th minute to put the game beyond
Indonesia, who are currently involved in a standoff with FIFA over
their refusal to replace their jailed soccer federation
president.
Thailand held off a second-half onslaught to earn a 1-1 draw away
to Yemen in Sana'a, with in-form striker Surayuth Chaikamdee
scoring his sixth goal in three matches.Surayuth gave the Thais the
lead on 34 minutes but Fekri al Hubaishi levelled the score two
minutes before the break.
In an ill-tempered second half, Yemen pushed forward as the Thais
began to struggle in the thin air of Yemen's highland capital, with
al Hubaishi forcing two saves from goalkeeper Kosin
Hathairattanakul.
The Thais soaked up the pressure and twice came close to scoring
when Sarayuth headed into the keeper's hands in the 60th minute and
Teerasil Dangda fired wide of the post from 10 metres out.
Friday's winners will now meet the 11 teams given a bye straight to
the third round after winning their first round games, plus the
five seeds -- Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran and newcomers
Australia.
http://football.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-7064491,00.html
