• Seyam scores a brace as Palestine rally from one goal down to win 5-1

Palestine fired a warning to their FIFA Arab Cup rivals by making the main draw of the tournament with an emphatic 5-1 win over the Comoros in their one-off qualifier at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium last night.
After failing to make the cut for the third and final phase of qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Qatar, yesterday’s victory came as a soothing salve for the Palestinians whose struggles in sport mirror the problems they endure on a daily basis due to the Israeli occupation.
Yesterday, they found themselves trailing by an early goal scored by the hard-running Comoros midfielder Djoumoi Moussa but hit back in style with a dominating display, with three of the goals coming in the second half.
The Comoros played aggressive football but Layth Kharoub opened the floodgates for the Palestinians with a left-footed sliding shot from close following a free-kick in the 35th minute.
A few minutes later, Oday Dabbagh found himself in great position to strike but the Comoros goalkeeper Moyadh Oussesi brought off a spectacular save.
The Comoros’ initial enthusiasm began to wane as the Palestinians went about asserting their superiority with Dabbagh being the main protagonist.
The forward put his team ahead for the first time with a beautifully crafted goal as he scythed through the defence on the right flank before beating goalkeeper Ousseni with a powerful shot.
The Comoros fell further behind early after the break, thanks to a diving header by midfielder Tamer Seyam off a Dabbagh pass from the right flank.
Although not in a great position to score, Seyam did well to time his leap to perfection and head home, the ball taking a deflection off the upright.
By this point the Comoros had given up as the Palestinians created several opportunities as Ousseni was kept on his toes.
But the lively goalkeeper couldn’t stop Seyam from adding to his tally as got on the end of a pass from Dabbagh to help Palestine go 4-1 up.
The Comoros’ rout was complete when substitute Islam Batran dribbled past a throng of defenders to beat Ousseni all ends up.
Palestine will however figure in Group C of the tournament proper where they will have to face the might of not only Asian giants Saudi Arabia, but also African favourites Morocco and Jordan.
Meanwhile, the president of the Comoros Football Association, Ali Sayed Othman, has praised the “perfect” organisation of the 2021 Arab Cup qualifiers.
Othman said in a press statement: “We are confident that the tournament will be organised perfectly, especially that the State of Qatar is on the verge of organising the World Cup.”