DUBAI // Ali Daei is frugal with words and not too generous in praise. But the Iranian coach was forced to applaud the UAE after their spirited show in the 1-1 draw at Al Nasr on Wednesday night.
Karim Bagheri saved Iran from their first defeat to the UAE with an 81st minute equaliser and Iran otherwise created few other chances against opponents ranked 69 places below them in the Fifa rankings.
Daei saluted Dominque Bathenay's men. "The UAE played probably their best football in a very long time," said the Iranian coach. "They had no alternative but to win this game. This was their last chance and they came out fighting. Many teams would have lost to them in this match, so I'm happy with my players for earning a point from the game."
Daei, however, was not too pleased with the performance of his own side in the first-half.
"The fact that our goalkeeper was the man of the match shows that our defenders gave too many scoring opportunities to the opponents," said Daei.
"We have never seen our team play such a poor game. They gifted the ball to the UAE on many occasions and gave them many scoring opportunities.
"This continued at the beginning of the second half, but our performance gradually improved. The closer we got to the end of the game, we started playing better football."
Meanwhile, Coach Huh Jung-moo was delighted as South Korea recorded a hard-fought 2-0 win over 10-men away to Saudi Arabia to take command of a tight Group Two.
After Naif Hazazi was sent-off just before the hour mark, receiving a second yellow for diving, the game swung in Korea's favour and Lee Keun-ho and substitute Park Chu-young struck in the final 13 minutes to ensure a first competitive victory over Saudi Arabia in 19 years.
Huh said: "We did not play our usual style, but after we scored we regained our confidence and produced a good performance."
His counterpart Nasser Al Johar hailed Saudi Arabia's display but was left to rue Hazazi's crucial dismissal. "It changed everything as we lost a good player and a chance to take the lead," said Johar. "But as far as the match is concerned, I congratulate the Koreans for their victory."
arizvi@thenational.ae
Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
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What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
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