Bahrain fell to a 1-2 defeat against South Korea in their second group stage match of the AFC Under-19 Championship at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town last night.
After defeating Saudi Arabia in the opening game last week with a last minute goal, Bahrain this time witnessed a strong come-back by the Koreans who scored two goals in the last 10 minutes.
Bahrain’s Sayed Ibrahim Alaawi scored a perfect right-footed volley from 18 yards out to open the scoring for Bahrain in the 56th minute.
However, in the 84th minute of the game, South Korea’s Young-Wook Cho gave his team the equaliser.
Cho was once again the man of the moment giving his team the lead in the 94th minute of the game.
The match was attended by His Majesty the King’s Representative for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman and, Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Shaikh Nasser hailed Bahrain players’ performance against a tough South Korean side who have the championship a record of 12 times.
He said Bahrain’s magnificent display gave them the lead but luck was not in their favour. Shaikh Nasser said Bahrain would overcome all odds and bounce back from the defeat.
Shaikh Nasser also visited the players during the half time, when the score was 0-0, to motivate them.
In the second match of Group ‘A’, Saudi Arabia thrashed Thailand 4-0 to revive their hopes of qualifying for the quarter finals.
Rakan Al Anaze gave Saudis the lead in the 43rd minute when he easily dribbled past Thailand defenders into their penalty box before calmly placing the ball into the back of the net.
As Thailand went into the second half with hopes of finding the equaliser, Saudi Arabia managed to score their second goal through a counter attack with Mansour Al Muwallad getting his name on the score sheet in the 60th minute.
Eight minutes later, Ayman Al Khulaif unleashed a superb left-footed shot from inside the penalty box to extend Saudi’s lead to three goals.
Saudi Arabia once again found themselves in a good position to score in the 93rd minute through a counter attack leaving four of their players against two Thailand defenders.
Abdulrahman Ghareeb received the ball on his right foot and dribbled through a Thailand defender before placing the ball on the keeper’s left side to end the score at four.
The results see South Korea top the table with six points from two games while Saudi Arabia come in second place and Bahrain in third with three points each. Saudi Arabia have a goal difference of +3 while Bahrain’s goal difference is zero.
Thailand, who sit in last place, will be booking their tickets back home after losing twice, with no hope of making it past the group stages.
The final fixtures of the group will see Saudi Arabia face South Korea and Thailand take on Bahrain on Wednesday.
Tournament action continues today with two matches each in Groups ‘C’ and ‘D’. Iran (1 point) take on leaders Japan (3 points) in a highly anticipated Group ‘C’ match at 4.30pm.
In the same group, title holders Qatar (1 point) are favourites against Yemen (0) when the two sides clash at 7.30pm.
In Group ‘D’, Vietnam (3) look to seal their berth in the quarter-finals when they take on the UAE (0) at 4.30pm. This will be followed by another crucial match for Iraq (3), who face North Korea (0) at 7.30pm.