By Lower-ranked Mongolia won their first point in the Intercontinental Cup on Monday in Bhubaneswar when they held favoured Lebanon to a scoreless draw. (Also in Football)
With two games remaining in the four-team round-robin, Mongolia, which lost its opening match to India, has one point. Three points from two games go to Lebanon. They won the opening game 3-1 over Vanuatu.
Mongolian defender Batbaatar Amgalanbat had a productive day at work and was voted the game’s best player after successfully fighting off a torrent of attacks from the opponents.
In the fifteenth minute, Lebanon had a chance to take the lead. Karim Darwich had a fantastic opportunity to score the first goal after custodian Enkhtaivan Munkherdene of Mongolia and defender Erdenechimeg Unur-Erdene failed to communicate, but Bat-Erdene Uuganbat stopped his effort on goal.
The attackers of Lebanon continuously attempted to score throughout the game, including numerous long-range efforts, which kept the Mongolian goalkeeper alert.
As he met a superbly weighted cross inside the Mongolian penalty box, Darwich once more came close to giving Lebanon the lead but was unable to put it away. As he continued to pursue the elusive goal, Lebanon’s captain Hassan Maatouk posed a persistent menace to the Mongolian defence.
In the 79th minute, Mongolia came the closest to scoring against Lebanon. In the Lebanon penalty area, substitute Khurelbaatar Tsend-Ayush floated in an inch-perfect curling free kick, which substitutes Ganbold Ganbayar met with a header that just missed the goal.
In the second half, Lebanon’s coach, Aleksandar Ilic, tried several tactical adjustments and substitutes to score, but his goals were thwarted by a tenacious performance from the Mongolian defenders.
The Mongolian defender Bat-Erdene Uuganbat seemed to touch the ball with his hands when blocking a low cross during added time of the second half, but the referee was not persuaded by Lebanon’s request for a penalty.
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