Rapid Reaction: Jordan 3:1 Palestine

Palestine now in last chance saloon territory after yet another weird loss to Jordan

Palestine Starting XI: Rami Hamadi, Musab Al-Battat ©, Michel Termanini, Mohammed Saleh, Ahmed Taha, Ataa Jaber, Hamed Hemdan (Mahmoud Abu Warda 72’), Zaid Qunbar (Adam Kaied 61’), Tamer Seyam (Badr Moussa 82’), Oday Dabbagh (Assad Al-Hamlawi 72’), Wessam Abou Ali

HIGHLIGHTS

FULL MATCH

Goals:

JOR- Yazan Al-Arab 3’ // Abdullah Nasib 11’ // Musa Al-Tamari 45+3’

PLE- Tamer Seyam 33’

Cautions: Zaid Qunbar 26’ // Hamed Hemdan 69’

Recap: A windy and wet Amman was the setting for the 12th official encounter between Jordan and Palestine. The hosts entered the encounter confident they would be able to continue their good form against their neighbours. Failure to win would mean Jordan would risk falling further behind Iraq for the last automatic qualifying spot.

Although a sell out was expected before kickoff there were plenty of empty seats once the game started. Starting lineups for both Jordan and Palestine featured several surprises. Amer Jamous earned only his third cap of his career for the hosts while Ehab Abu Jazar handed starts to debutants Ahmed Taha and Hamed Hemdan.

The peculiarities of the game stopped there. For all the changes the game settled into a familiar pattern. Jordan scored seconds into the game off of a corner kick. Mohammed Saleh lost Yazan Al-Arab who headed home to make it 1-0 for the home team. In the 11th minute, Jordan doubled their lead through another set piece- this time a free kick found the other defensive colossus Abdullah Nassib.

To their credit, Palestine redoubled their effort unleashing Ahmad Taha to create an overload on the left flank. It was that pressure that paid off in the 33rd minute when Tamer Seyam met a perfect cross from Taha and headed home for his 14th international goal. That strike made him Palestine’s second all-time leading goalscorer in official competitions even with Fahed Attal.

The momentum seemed to have swung in Palestine’s direction until disaster in the form of another individual mistake struck again at the stroke of half time.

Mohammed Saleh could have easily passed back to Rami Hamadi but he inexplicably turned into Musa Al-Tamari. Jordan’s talisman made no mistake and slotted past to restore the two goal advantage.

The second half was a masterclass in game management from the Jordanians. Palestine remained resolute defensively and did not concede any serious chances for the remainder of the game. The chances that did fall to them were handled by Abu Layla.

Much like many of their previous games, individual errors cost Palestine dearly. Palestine remains alive for a potential playoff spot but there is zero margin for error going forward.

Spring Surprise: Credit to the coaching staff for their ability to keep a secret. Ahmed Taha playing for Palestine was always going to cause waves and there is a high likelihood that the left back will be frozen out of Kafr Qasem as a result of an Israeli pressure campaign that targeted Amid Mahajna, Alaa Aldeen Hassan, and Ataa Jaber before him.

This is a massive improvement as the last administration showed an inability to keep news from leaking. J-League defender Hassan Hilu was all set to play for Palestine last year but backed out at the eleventh hour after Israeli media picked up on social media reports linking him to the team.

What I liked: In open play, Palestine were once again superior and managed to nullify a potent counterattack that has wreaked havoc across Asia over the past 14 months. I also thought Ehab Abu Jazar picked the right substitutes and it did lift the game in the second half.

What I didn’t like: For all the changes, there remains one constant- an unshakable faith in Mohammed Saleh. I respect that there are finite options past starters Michel Termanini and Amid Mahajna but Saleh is not the answer nor does he have any considerable upside. He has had disastrous games time and again. The penalty he gave up against Qatar at the Asian Cup was followed by a 45 minute performance against Bangladesh where he was run ragged and had to be hooked at half time.

His mistake in positioning gifted Oman two points in Muscat back in November and now this atrocious performance.

Is Yaser Hamed perfect? No. But he kept Korea Republic at bay for 180 minutes. Why not roll with that momentum?

Elsewhere in Group B: Oman became the second team to take points off of Korea Republic with a 1-1 draw in the early kickoff. Kuwait threw away a two goal lead in Basra in injury time. The match finished 2-2 which means Jordan is back in second place on goal difference. Palestine are four points off of Oman for the last playoff spot- they will need to win out and hope Oman trips up either Kuwait or Jordan before they meet on the final match day.

What’s Next: Palestine faces Iraq in Amman on Tuesday March 25th. Kickoff is set for 20:15 Jerusalem time.