GOA: Abed Alazez Dawod’s equaliser secured the United Arab Emirates a share of the spoils against the Islamic Republic of Iran as the sides played out a 1-1 draw in Group A of the AFC U-16 Championship India 2016 on Sunday.

After an opening 45 minutes of few chances at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium former winners, Iran broke the deadlock early in the second half through substitute Alireza Asadabadi only for Dawod (pictured, centre) to hit back almost immediately for UAE.

Mohammad Sharifi struck the UAE crossbar midway through the half but a second was not forthcoming as both sides moved to four points at the top of the Group A standings.

Iran began on the front foot, controlling the majority of the possession from the off, but it was UAE who came closest early on when captain Majid Rashid fizzed a free-kick just wide from 30 yards.

Then on 27 minutes Iran’s captain Aref Mohammadalipour towered above the UAE defence to connect with Amirhossein Esmaeilzadeh’s corner from the right only to see his header rebound back off the woodwork.

As the half wore on the intense heat appeared to be taking its toll on the players with neither team showing any of the attacking prowess that saw them net three apiece in their respective opening-day fixtures.

Three minutes before the interval the Emiratis had another sight on goal when Dawod created space for himself outside the penalty area and drove powerfully over as the game remained scoreless.

But just as he did in Iran’s 3-2 win over Saudi Arabia on Matchday One, Asadabadi came off the bench to score when he tapped in Vahid Namdari’s cross from the right on 48 minutes for his second goal in two games.

UAE stunned Iran two minutes later with a quick-fire equaliser as Dawod broke through the middle and fired beyond the reach of goalkeeper Meraj Esmaeili into the bottom right corner.

With both teams pushing for a second, the Iranians forced ‘keeper Salem Al Hareth into a fine reaction save on 65 minutes after good work from Hossein Nokhodkar and Asadabadi allowed Allahyar Sayyad to fire goalwards.

And four minutes later Sharifi curled a superb free-kick from 25 yards off the top of the bar as Abbas Chamanian’s Iran began to look the more likely side to take all three points.

UAE substitute Ahmad Fawzi’s sweetly struck effort from a distance then flew just over the bar in the final 10 minutes before Dawod fired narrowly wide with the final kick of the game with the sides having to settle for a point apiece.

(Picture & Report Courtesy: www.the-afc.com)