Quintana despondent after draw

Qatar hero Sebastian Quintana was left dismayed following the Group B draw with Vietnam despite his second last-gasp equaliser in as many matches keeping the Asian Games gold medallists in contention for a place in the AFC Asian Cup quarter-finals.

Phan Thanh Binh”s first half strike following a goalkeeping error from Qatar”s Mohamed Saqr looked to have fired Vietnam into the last eight before Quintana, who scored with two minutes remaining to salvage a 1-1 draw with Japan, headed home from close range with 10 minutes to play.

Qatar face Gulf Cup champions United Arab Emirates at the Army Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday and Quintana insists Dzemaludin Musovic”s side will be gunning for all three points in the must-win meeting.

SWe are not feeling too good because we deserved to win, but we missed a lot of chances. But it is OK, we have to look forward to the match against the Emirates and try to win this game,⬝ he told PA Sport.

SIt is always good to get a late goal and it is my second in the tournament, but it was not enough because we needed to win. I am now thinking about the next game because we must concentrate and we must work very hard over the next three days.

SWe must take three points to qualify because a draw will not be enough. In the second half we played better, but we still missed a lot of chances and missed a big chance to get the three points. But we must forget now and concentrate on the next game.⬝

Al Gharafa midfielder Saad Al Shmmari said: SIn the first half we played poor but we did better in the second half. We were unlucky not to score another goal. One point is better than nothing.⬝

Magid Mohamed struck the Vietnam upright just after the hour mark before substitute Ali Afef almost grabbed a winner with five minutes remaining as the Al Sadd striker beat the offside trap and chipped the ball over an advancing Duong Hong Son, but watched as the ball struck the crossbar and bounced down the wrong side of the line.

SIt was not easy against Vietnam because they were playing in front of their home fans in their own country,⬝ said Qatar”s Al Sadd defender Abdullah Obaid.

SWe made a mistake in the first half but in the second half we played a lot better. We knew we had to put it right. If there were no mistakes in football, nobody would win. We still have a chance to qualify and we are confident ahead of the final game against the UAE.⬝

Defending champions Japan face the UAE on Friday, but whatever the result at the My Dinh National Stadium, both place in the last eight will still be available heading into the final round of fixtures.

Afef said: SOne point against Vietnam is better than nothing, but now we have a big game against UAE and if we play our best we believe we can win.⬝

Team-mate Al Shammari added: SWe have a big game against the UAE and we hope we can win that. It”s a do or die clash and I hope we win and get the three points.⬝