Feras Al Brikan scored twice as Saudi Arabia battled back from going behind to an early Kevin Diks penalty to secure a 3-2 win over Indonesia in Group B of the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to 26 Playoffs at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
Diks put Patrick Kluivert’s side in front in the 11th minute but that lead lasted only six minutes as Saleh Abu Al Shamat levelled ahead of Al Brikan’s brace, the Al Ahli Saudi FC striker scoring in the 36th and 62nd minutes to send Herve Renard’s side on their way to the win.
With two minutes left, Diks scored again from the penalty spot and Mohammed Kanno receive a late red card, but neither was enough to deny Saudi Arabia a victory that puts the six-time FIFA World Cup qualifiers on the cusp of securing another appearance at the Finals.
The Green Falcons will face Iraq in Jeddah next Tuesday while Indonesia take on Graham Arnold’s side on Saturday knowing they must win to have any chance of keeping their own FIFA World Cup dream alive.
Indonesia’s hopes looked promising in the early changes, with Hassan Al Tambakhti enduring a nightmare start for the hosts, giving away a free-kick in the fifth minute from which the Indonesians earned the penalty for the opener.
It was the Al Hilal SFC defender who was at the heart of that, too, the ball thumping against his hand after Dean James swung his delivery in from the right and referee Ahmad Al Ali awarded the spot-kick following a lengthy pitch-side review.
Diks, who had missed a penalty in his side’s 5-1 loss in the previous round of qualifying against Australia, made no mistake, powering the ball into the bottom corner and beyond Nawaf Al Aqidi’s dive to his right.
The goal roused the Saudis and within six minutes the home side were level, the ball worked towards the edge of the penalty area from where Al Shamat stroked a clinical right-foot finish beyond the well-beaten Maarten Paes.
The hosts pushed for a second with Paes blocking Nawaf Bu Washl’s shot on the run from the right while Al Shamat rattled the crossbar with a vicious right-foot strike on the half hour mark.
Saudi Arabia’s pressure told soon after when Yakob Sayuri was judged to have pulled Al Brikan’s shirt in the penalty area and, after referee Al Ali pointed to the spot, the Al Ahli forward stepped up to thump in his left-foot strike.
Al Brikan pounced to add Saudi Arabia’s third following Paes’ sprawling save to keep out Musab Al Juwayr’s low shot from distance, the forward netting the rebound to the delight of the home fans.
That goal was to prove decisive as Al Ali awarded a third penalty when Bu Washl handled when he fell over in the area, with Diks converting with confidence but it was not enough to stir a late revival for Patrick Kluivert’s team despite a late dismissal for Kanno.
