Having taken a 14th minute lead through Mousa Al Tamari in their Group B tie, Jordan proceeded to waste numerous chances and were hurt by Kuwait’s Yousef Al Sulaiman striking home a stoppage time equaliser from the penalty spot.
Kuwait grew into the match following Al Tamari’s injury-forced substitution just after the hour-mark, adding more woe for Salami with Jordan to play Palestine in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
“The team wasted two valuable points at the beginning of our journey in the qualifiers despite the advantage on the field but at the same time, first matches usually tend to be difficult,” said Salami.
“After scoring the first goal, the players became somewhat slack and did not feel responsible, as it was possible to score at least three goals during the first half.
“Al Tamari’s injury and Yazan Al-Naimat’s lack of sharpness cost us offensively. We have to remedy the situation in the match against Palestine.”
Kuwait head coach Juan Antonio Pizzi admitted that Al Tamari’s departure was the turning point for his side.
With the threat of the Montpellier player gone, Kuwait grew in confidence and the point will give Pizzi’s side plenty of motivation ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Iraq, the only side on maximum points in Group B.
“Al Tamari is one of the best players in the world, and he is a player with great capabilities, and his exit contributed to our success in achieving a draw in the last minutes,” said Pizzi.
