Saudi Arabia treated its Melbourne fans to a football master class – well, for 80 minutes at least – in a 4-1 drubbing of North Korea in the 2015 Asian Cup group B clash at Swan Street on Tuesday night.
The Saudis were caught on the back foot in the opening 10 minutes as North Korea pressed to find the game’s first goal 11 minutes in through Ryang Yong Gi.
The ice breaker came after Saudi goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah parried long range strike from North Korean striker Pak Kwang Ryong to the feet of the advancing Ryang Yong Gi for an easy tap in.
With a potential quarter final berth resting on the result, Saudi Arabia lifted a cog to get the game back on its own terms.
The Saudis speed, skill and cohesion was too much to handle for the North Korean’s, who grew more frustrated the longer the game wore on and resorted to a host of unseemly fouls.
Nawaf Al Abid was the spark plug for the Saudis.
The small but speedy attacking midfielder ran rings around the opposition defenders.
He showed clean skills on the left side, cheeky stepovers when caught on his right and his inter-play with teammates was just breathtaking.
Al Abid, a 24-year-old who plays for Al-Hilal, played the penultimate pass in a wonderful Saudi build-up for the 37th minute equaliser.
The play started when Salem Al Dawsari profited from a North Korea turnover on the left side, he moved the ball inside to striker Mohammed Al Sahlawi, who found Al Abid and produced a soft lay off for Naif Hazazi to shoot past North Korea’s goalkeeper Ri Myong Guk.
The sides went into the break locked at one-apiece, but the arm wrestle favoured the Saudis, who enjoyed 60% of the possession in the first half.
They added to their early in the second half and made their constant attack count on the scoreboard with two goals in three minutes – both from right place, right time striker Al Sahlawi.
The 28-year-old from Al-Nasr ultimately scored the go-ahead goal from a tap in, but it was his Saudi team’s lead up work and hard running off the ball that had the North Korean defence at sixes and sevens that allowed him to score.
Al Sahlawi’s second was brought about by the Saudis incessant pressure in the front third, where he cut off a wayward defensive clearance with his arm tucked into his chest, controlled it to his feet and found a wide open goal mouth beckoning to make it 3-1 on 54 minutes.
Al Sahlawi went close in his hat-trick bid, but sent a one-on-one chance with Ri Myong Guk wide and would soon substituted to loud applause by his adoring Saudi fans.
Saudi Arabia made it a rout with a fourth goal in the 77th minute after one of the most comical pieces of play you are likely to see in the tournament.
Al Dawsari created mayhem in the North Korea defence with a mazy run and took on the shot by himself, but it clipped Ri Myong Guk’s feet on the way through, leaving a looping ball to head in the direction of the goal with only Ri Yong Jik between the ball and the goal.
Ri Yong Jik initially tried to stop the ball with his hands – a no no of course – but missed it and it ricocheted off the crossbar and back into his arms.
A penalty and a red card was issued, leaving North Korea down to 10 men for the last 13 minutes.
Fittingly, it was man of the match Al Abid who stepped up to take the penalty, but his shot was parried by Ri Myong Guk, only for the ball to clatter into one post, dribble along the goal line and into the other post and eventually find its way to the back of the net after Al Abid frantically slid in to score.
Saudi Arabia could a dark horse this tournament. Though the group B side is still no guarantee to be alive at the quarter final stage, needing at least a draw against the just-as-dangerous Uzbekistan at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Sunday.
If the Saudis play to their full potential for 90 minutes, they will be a dangerous side in the knock-out phase, where the could meet the Socceroos.
In Omar Howsawi, the Saudis have a central defender that refuses to shirk the issue, even when faced with the physical challenge against Pak Kwang Ryong.
The Saudis biggest threat comes in their attacking flair, led by Al Abid on this night and well supported by starters Al Dawsari, Al Sahlawi, and Hassan Muath Fallatah, the latter producing a number of delightful crosses from the right side.
If you are at a loose end near the Melbourne CBD on Sunday night, get to Swan Street and check out the clash between the Saudis and Uzbekistan, it promises to be a cracker with a spot in the quarter finals up for grabs.
