Palestine keep Iraq goalless at halftime

By Tim Wimborne CANBERRA (Reuters) - Palestine held firm against waves of Iraq pressure as the two West Asian sides were locked level at 0-0 at halftime in their Group D finale on Tuesday. A point would be enough for Iraq to qualify for a sixth consecutive Asian Cup quarter-final, provided Japan see out their 1-0 halftime advantage over Jordan in the other Group D match in Melbourne. The 2007 winners can ensure qualification if they achieve a big victory over the group whipping boys, but the Palestinians showed determination to have no repeat of their 4-0 and 5-1 hammerings at the hands of Japan and Jordan. Palestine coach Ahmed Al Hassan made seven changes for the match at Canberra Stadium and the new recruits pressed and harried their opponents, who dominated possession but struggled to test stand in goalkeeper Tawfiq Abuhammad. Palestine came close to snatching a surprise lead in the 21st minute when Iraq goalkeeper Jalal Hassan flapped at an inswinging corner from the left but Ahmed Ibrahim hacked the ball away before Abdallatif Al-Bahdari could turn it in. Iraq gave first Asian Cup starts to Ahmed Yaseen Gheni and Justin Meram and both were busy behind the well marked skipper Younis Mahmoud. A swift counter by Ahmed Yaseen after a rare Palestine attack gave Dhurgham Ismael a great chance to open the scoring but the fullback blazed over in the 24th minute. (Writing by Patrick Johnston; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)