Qatar share points with UAE in Arabian Gulf Cup opener

A first-half strike by Akram Afif on Saturday helped Qatar share points with United Arab Emirates (UAE) in their opening match of the Arabian Gulf Cup 26.Yahya al-Ghassani produced the equaliser just before the end of the first half at Jaber Al-Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah Stadium.In another match on Saturday, hosts Kuwait and Oman also played a 1-1 draw.Saturday’s 1-1 draw was new coach Luis Garcia’s first match in charge of the Qatar side. During the second half, Garcia was shown a yellow card by the referee.Qatar midfielder Tareq Salman said after the match on Saturday: "It was a fighting match for us. Thank God, we managed a good result. We had chances to score more goals. I think we dominated the match. Yes, we could have scored some more goals.”Afif looked in fine form throughout the match with his threatening moves especially in the first half. The Asian Cup hero arrived in Kuwait less than 24 hours ago.Qatar opened the scoring through their mercurial play-maker Afif who converted a penalty in the 17th minute.Earlier the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup kicked off with an exciting but evenly matched encounter as Oman and hosts Kuwait battled to a 1-1 draw at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium.The atmosphere was electric as Kuwait took an early lead. In the 34th minute, Yousef al-Sulaiman rose above Mohammed al-Musalami to powerfully head home from a corner, sending the stadium into a frenzy. The hosts, sensing victory, pressed forward with renewed vigour, but Oman remained composed.Just before halftime, Jameel al-Yahmadi threaded a brilliant pass through the Kuwait defence, finding Issam al-Sabhi who calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper, silencing the home crowd.