Saudis take a point and a lesson into next game

MUNICH, June 15: Saudi Arabia were happy to have taken one point from their Arab 2-2 World Cup derby draw against Tunisia and learned that the game lasts until the referee blows the final whistle.

Having fallen behind in their Group H opener in the first half, the Saudis played an attacking second half scoring twice, the second only six minutes from time.

But a late equaliser, deep in stoppage time by Radhi Jaidi who was left unmarked in the penalty area, left the Saudis with only a point, and facing wounded Ukraine next.

''We learnt our lesson today and we cannot make these mistakes against Ukraine,'' striker Sami Al Jaber, who scored the second for his country, said. ''We lost our concentration at the end and we let a goal in.

''We have to make every effort to play like we did in the second half today for the whole game against Ukraine,'' said the veteran striker with 161 international caps and 44 goals, after watching Spain demolish Ukraine 4-0 in a magnificent performance.

''We know we have to work harder,'' he said.

While Saudi Arabia are not the pushover they were four years ago when they got a first-round 8-0 drubbing from Germany, they will have to seal their corridors in the back, just like they did for most of the second 45 minutes against Tunisia.

Saudi coach Marcos Paqueta, a Brazilian, said he was satisfied with the defensive operation.

''Our defence had an excellent game,'' he said. ''I am not going to change our defence, they were secure, they moved a lot and in my opinion they had a very good match.'' Paqueta, who only took over late last year, knows a good result against Ukraine could go a very long way to sending the Saudis to their first second-stage appearance after 1994.

''We played very good defence and considering this is an Arab derby which has a lot of pressure, we played well,'' Saudi midfielder Mohammed Ameen said.

''We are sure they (Ukraine) will show another performance than they played against Spain today. We are ready to fight against a strong team,'' he said.

REUTERS

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