ABU DHABI - A last gasp winner saw three-time Gulf Cup champions Saudi Arabia claim a hard-fought 2-1 win against nine-man Bahrain in their opening match of the tournament.

In an early preview of their Asian Cup Group D clash later this year, Bahrain drew first blood when skipper Talal Yousef scored from the penalty spot in the 13th minute, but the Saudis successfully came from behind as Yasser Al Qahtani levelled the scores with a penalty in the 25th minute before grabbing a dramatic winner three minutes from time.

Saudi Arabia had enjoyed the upper hand in the opening minutes of the game and almost broke the deadlock after only five minutes when Naif Al Qadi saw his powerful shot come back off the woodwork.

It was against the run of play that Bahrain took the lead.

After a swift counter-attack, Salman Issa was brought down inside the area by Naif Al Qadi and the Swiss referee Massimo Busacca pointed to the spot before Yousef stepped up to give his side the lead.

But the Bahraini goal only spurred on Saudi Arabia and they almost scored a superb equaliser when Al Qadi saw his bicycle kick also hit the woodwork.

The scores were levelled in the 25th minute through another penalty.

Bahrain defender Mohammed Hassan felled Malek Maaz inside the area and Busacca awarded a second penalty which Yasser Al Qahtani converted.

The game took another twist in Saudi Arabia's favour in the 34th minute when Bahrain's Sayed Mohamad Adnan saw red after hacking down Malek Maaz as he raced towards goal.

With the extra man, Saudi Arabia were in control and two minutes before the break they went close to a second goal when Hassan Maaz crossed for his namesake Malek, but the latter sent his header inches wide.

The Saudi pressure continued in the second half and they should have taken the lead on the hour mark when Hassan Maaz again broke down the left wing before sending in a low cross that found Yasser Al Qahtani.

However, the Al Hilal striker saw his effort blocked by a Bahrain defender.

Bahrain's task became much more difficult in the 65th minute when Busacca produced a second yellow card, this time for Mohammed Hussain who crudely challenged Saudi midfielder Mohammed Al Shalhoub.

With Bahrain increasingly stretched, Saudi Arabia poured forward in search of a winner and nearly found it in the 86th minute when Al Shalhoub forced a good save from Bahrain goalkeeper Abdulrahman Abdulkarim with a shot from the edge of the area.

Moments later, Saudi Arabia finally found the winner when Al Shaloub whipped in a corner which Al Qahtani headed home to secure the victory.

Saudi Arabia's Brazilian coach Marcus Paqueta was relieved to have snatched all three points from a game that his side should have made much easier than they did.

"The game was big," he said.

"Bahrain played a good game and both teams had a good performance on the pitch today. We had a better possession but sometimes the Bahrainis found the balance.

"I would like to congratulate both teams for the fighting spirit. Due to the powerful defence of Bahrain it was very hard for us to score, even though we had so many chances.

"We need to concentrate more on the final touch in the future."

Bahrain coach Hans-Peter Briegel was disappointed to have lost so late in the game after a battling display.

"I don't want to talk a lot about the match but I want to give a compliment to my team who were playing with nine men and were brave on the pitch," said the German coach.

"The defeat was in the last minute and it was bitter." Friday, January 19, 2007 at 3:29 AM