Bahrain benefit from replay to draw 1-1 with Uzbekistan

Reuters October 8 Uzbekistan were held to a 1-1 draw by Bahrain in the replayed first leg of their Asian World Cup qualifying play-off in Tashkent on Saturday. The Uzbeks, whose 1-0 victory over Bahrain on September 3 was nullified by FIFA because of a refereeing error, were this time forced to come from behind with Dynamo Kiev's Maksim Shatskikh equalising on 19 minutes, two minutes after Talal Yusuf had given Bahrain the lead. Bahrain now have the advantage going into the second leg in Manama on Wednesday, having benefited from the FIFA ruling that many felt was harsh on the Uzbeks. The first match was nullified because Japanese referee Toshimitsu Yoshida disallowed an Uzbekistan goal scored from a penalty for encroachment before incorrectly awarding Bahrain an indirect free kick. The winner of the play-off meets the team that finishes fourth in the CONCACAF final group to determine who plays in next year's finals in Germany.