Uzbekistan were playing for the first time in the three-team tournament that decides Asia's representative in the AFC/CAF playoff against Senegal while Syria were in action for the second time in two days having earned a last-gasp 1-1 draw with Oman in Sunday's hard-fought opener.

Abramov saw his side concede a 'route one' goal in the 14th minute as Yasser Shahen latched on to a long clearance from keeper Ibrahim Alma and calmly lifted the ball over Uzbek custodian Akbar Turaev.

However, the Uzbeks laid siege on the Syrian goal and capitalised on a tiring defence as Kenja Turaev levelled the contest with a close-range header in the 73rd minute before Oleg Zoteev scored with three minutes left on the clock to set up a decisive showdown between Uzbekistan and Oman on Thursday.

"This was a very tough match and I thank the players who changed the game and kept alive our chances, Abramov said at the post-match press conference.

"I think playing two games with only 48 hours recovery affected Syria."

Two games in a two-day period is a tough ask for any team but Syria coach Rui Almeida, who retook charge of the Olympic squad for the playoffs after an eight-month gap, refused to use that as an excuse for the defeat.

Earlier in his briefing to the media Almeida also remarked that the short recovery time led to his side tiring towards the end of Tuesday's tussle at the My Dinh Stadium but refused to use that as the reason for the defeat saying:

"I have said this many times before that 48 hours is not enough time to recover. I am not saying this as an excuse for our defeat tonight but players need 72 hours recovery between matches."

Abramov, who led the senior Uzbekistan national team to the semi-finals of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, added that going a goal-down at half-time prompted a more aggressive strategy as they chased the goals that would keep them in the hunt for a place in the Olympic Games for the first time in the country's history.

After they scored I told the players at half-time that I wanted more concentration and for the second half I brought on a midfielder for a defender," he said in reference to his decision to bring on Vladimir Kozak for Davronbek Khashimov.

"I will check the situation and see the condition of the players tomorrow before I look at the Oman game," concluded the 49-year-old.