Title contenders Syria rode on an opportunistic goal as they beat traditional rivals Lebanon by a solitary goal and booked a berth in the Nehru Cup international football tournament in New Delhi on Thursday.
Star striker Mohammad Al Zeno scored the all-important goal when he fired in low shot in the 23rd minute capitalising on a defensive lapse to ensure that his side maintained a clean slate in the five-nation tournament.
With an all-win record from three matches, Syria, the last edition's runners-up, booked the final berth while Lebanon could collect only four points from a win and a draw from four matches.
The result also virtually placed India into the final as they have collected six points from two wins from three matches.
Sri Lanka, who have three points with one match remaining, are theoretically in contention for a final berth but with a goal difference of negative five as against India's plus two their chances looked slim.
If the islanders want to make it to the final, they have to beat Krgyzstan on Friday by a huge margin and pray that India lose to Syria on Saturday by a heavy margin.
The match in front of a sparse crowd at the Ambedkar Stadium never rose to any great heights except for the frayed tempers for a brief period in the second half when the players of both sides jostled each other minutes after Indian referee Arumughan Rowan turned down a penalty appeal by Lebanon.
Both the sides played open game with lots of ground passes on an Ambedkar pitch softened by rain.
Action shifted from one end to the other as nothing much exciting came out of the match. Most of the shots also lacked sting and direction.
Lebanon had better of the exchanges and territorial advantage initially and they had the first attempt at the Syrian goal in the sixth minute, but Ali Yaakoub's effort missed the target.
A defensive lapse paid dearly for Lebanon as Syria took the lead in the 23rd minute. An innocuous looking pass by Abdul Fatah Alaga went through all the Lebanese defenders and Al Zeno fired in a low shot into the net.
Lebanon tried hard for a breakthrough using both the flanks but a clear chance eluded them in the first half.
Midfielder Hassan Maatouk played his heart out but the supplies from the flanks especially from the left by Akram Moghrabi lacked precision.
