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World Cup qualifying: Uzbekistan beat Bahrain to take slender playoff lead [Mon Sep 5th, 2005]
Kuala Lumpur (Reuters) - Uzbekistan beat Bahrain 1-0 in the first leg of a controversial Asian Zone World Cup qualifying playoff match in Tashkent.
Marjalal Kasimov scored after 12 minutes in front of a packed home crowd, who went away believing their team were robbed of a second goal after 39 minutes when Japanese referee Toshimitsu Yoshida disallowed Server Djeperov's seemingly straightforward penalty.
Although Djeperov beat Bahrain goalkeeper Ali Husain to put the ball in the net, Yoshida ruled that the Uzbek player had hesitated during his run-up and awarded the Middle East team an indirect free kick.
The Uzbeks will also feel aggrieved about the incident that led to the penalty.
Bahrain defender Mohammed Juma appeared to deliberately handle the ball while attempting a clearance and although Yoshida gave Uzbekistan a penalty, he refused to punish Juma.
Uzbekistan, coached by Englishman and former China coach Bobby Houghton, kept pushing for another goal to take to the second leg in Manama on Wednesday but Bahrain's defence held firm.
The Bahrainis will be confident of overturning the one-goal deficit in the second leg and progressing to the final stage of the Asian qualifying competition, which involves a playoff with the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF.
South Korea, Japan, Iran and Saudi Arabia have already qualified from Asia. All four teams have World Cup experience, while Uzbekistan and Bahrain will be looking to qualify for the finals for the first time.
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