A stoppage time goal from Hamad Al Banki gave Bahrain a 2-1 win over Uzbekistan in Group B of the AFC Final Round for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the Army Stadium on Wednesday.

Bahrain opened the scoring in the first half through Abdulla Omar before Uzbekistan levelled four minutes from time thanks to Sadriddin Abdullaev.

But, just as the game looked destined to end in a draw, Al Banki emerged as the hero for Bahrain when he claimed the winner two minutes into injury time.

The victory revives Bahrain chances of qualifying for next year’s Olympic Games as they are now three points behind group leaders Korea Republic, while the defeat seriously dented Uzbekistan’s chances of winning the group.

Uzbekistan went into the game without Vagiz Galiulin and Farhod Tadjiyev, who both missed out through suspension, while Bahrain arrived to Tashkent without Nigerian-born players Abdullah Fatadi and Jaycee Okwunwanne.

The visitors, who increased the pressure after the first 20 minutes, opened the scoring in the 28th minute with a powerful strike from Omar, who collected a loose ball and fired low into the corner of the net.

The goal brought Uzbekistan to life as they held a siege on Sayed Abbas’ goal and, despite forcing several corners in the last minutes of the first half, they were unable to make the pressure count.

Bahrain started the second half brightly and presented a significant threat on the counterattack while at the other end Uzbekistan continued their struggle to unlock the visitors’ defence.

With 17 minutes to go, Bahrain should have made it 2-0 when Faouzi Aaish fired off a long range free kick but Aziz Ashurov punched the ball wide for a corner to keep his side in the game.

Uzbekistan increased the pressure in the dying minutes and it eventually paid off in the 86th minute when Abdullaev received a pass from Lutfulla Turaev on the edge of the area before beating Faouzi Aaish and Jasim Al Malood to score past Abbas with a right-footed strike.

The hosts went close to taking the lead in the dying minutes when Abdullaev fired a shot from outside the area only for the ball to come back off the woodwork in the 87th minute while Kamoliddin Murzoyev’s header was disallowed for a foul on the goalkeeper in the first minute of stoppage time.

The two misses proved costly for Uzbekistan as Bahrain launched a quick counter attack through Al Banki, who played a one-two inside the area with substitute Ali Yaqoot before slotting the ball into the left side of the goal to give his side a valuable win.