Starting XI (3-5-2): Shbair; Hijazi, Mahdi, Abu Saleh; Alhendi, Wadi, Obeid (c), Ashraf Nu’man, Murad Said; Abugharqud, Shatrit.
Recap: Mousa Bezaz rotated players to give some squad members the chance to prove themselves. Mohammed Shbair replaced Abdullah Saidawi in goal and made a couple of nice saves whilst keeping a clean sheet. There were also starts for Hussam Abu Saleh, Ayman Alhendi, Ashraf Nu’man and WBPL leading scorer Eyad Abugharqud. The best chances in the first half fell to Ashraf Nu’man in the 12th minute, Eyad Abugharqud in the 15th and Suleiman Obeid in the 39th. Atef Abu Bilal and Mohammad Jamal came on as substitutes in the second half and came close to breaking the deadlock but to no avail.
What it Means: The match will not count towards Palestine’s FIFA ranking but this gave Bezaz a chance to test the depth of his squad. There might have been some hubris as to how good we are without our foreign based players after the 2-1 win but certainly that has dissipated today. Not a great result by any means against a young Pakistan side. They came to park the bus and were successful.
Positives: Mohammed Shbair made a great save in the dying minutes to preserve the 0-0 draw. Despite the scoreline, Palestine dominated proceedings.
Negatives: Suleiman Obeid, one of the teams best attackers left the field with an injury late in the first half.
What’s Next: Palestine will depart for Kuwait tomorrow to start a training camp ahead of the AFC Asian Challenge Cup Qualifiers in Myanmar. They are slated to face Kuwait in an unofficial friendly on the 14th.
