Defending champions Riffa produced a clinical performance at the Bahrain National Stadium in their last game of the 2021-22 season to overwhelm an outclassed Muharraq side 4-1 and retain their Nasser Bin Hamad Premier League football title late last night.
Riffa, with 39 points, had entered this game needing only the one point that a draw would have given them to win the championship because it would have taken their points tally out of reach of second-placed Manama, who had 36 and were playing Khaldiya concurrently at Khalifa Sport City.
But Riffa were not going to play for a draw, coach Ali Ashoor had declared the day before, and, on the night that it mattered the most, produced their most commanding performance in a season that saw them play 18 games and lose none.
“We are very happy to have defended our title,” an ecstatic Ashoor told the GDN as, behind him, the Riffa players celebrated with the glittering trophy. “We worked very hard throughout the season and to have gone through the season without even a single defeat speaks volumes for how good our team is.”
Riffa went on the offensive as soon as the match started, making repeated forays into the Muharraq half in the first couple of minutes. The pressure told on the Muharraq defenders when Riffa’s star striker, Mohammed Marhoon breached their defences to put Riffa 1-0 up in only the fourth minute.
Just eight minutes later, Riffa scored again when Hashim Sayed Isa ran down the left flank and left the Muharraq goalkeeper flummoxed with a dazzling play.
Riffa were now 2-0 up in only the 13th minute and, try as Muharraq might, they just could not gain control of the ball for any length of time.
But Riffa had no such problems and, less than 13 minutes later, Ali Hassan Saeed had scored the team’s third goal.
Muharraq were now looking ragged and Riffa made the most of their opponents’ lack of coordination by dominating the rest of the first half before heading into the change room with the score reading 3-0 in their favour.
The break appeared to have done Muharraq no good. But Riffa appeared even more energised as they continued to dictate terms on the pitch.
It was only a matter of time before they scored again and Mohammed Al Rumaihi duly obliged his teammates by netting Riffa’s fourth goal.
With only 20 minutes left, Muharraq knew the game was now beyond their reach and it showed in their muted celebration when striker Flavio managed to finally put their team on the scoreboard in the 81st minute.
Soon, though, Muharraq’s agony was over as the final whistle rang out and a large, loud contingent of Riffa supporters went into raptures.
“I am so proud of our team,” Ashoor exclaimed as the Riffa players posed for photographs with the trophy. “This is a champion team in every sense of the word!”