Abdulaziz Almansoori scored two contrasting goals either side of the half-time break to spur a ragged Al Hala team to an unconvincing 2-1 win over Al Hidd in a Nasser bin Hamad Premier League game at the Muharraq Stadium last night.
Almansoori’s first goal came off a penalty in the 30th minute when his right-footed kick bounced off Al Hidd goalkeeper Ali Abdulla’s outstretched left hand into the back of the net.
And, after Al Hala had gone into the change room leading 1-0 at the break, Almansoori sprinted after a long pass towards the Al Hidd goal in the 52nd minute, threading his way through two defenders before sending the ball skidding past Abdulla’s left to put his side 2-0 up.
Al Hidd, who had dominated the first half without any luck and continued to out-manoeuvre Al Hala in the second as well, continued to press their opponents but their finishing was completely off the mark with shots either going over the crossbar or wide of the goal.
Al Hala, who were 10th with 18 points in the 12-team table before the game, continued to live dangerously, conceding corners and free kicks randomly to their opponents, who were 8th in the standings prior to the match with 20 points.
Finally, after not managing to score off their seventh corner in the 86th minute and seeing a free kick by Talal Alsharooqi go over the crossbar again soon thereafter, Al Hidd tasted their first slice of luck.
After a throw from the sidelines following the corner landed the ball at Alsharooqi’s feet with several defenders and teammate Abdulla Ali between him and the goal, the Al Hidd player’s powerful shot arrowed straight into Ali’s back and deflected past a couple of Al Hala players into the goal.
The Al Hidd players celebrated briefly and then got down to business again, knowing there were less than four minutes left in regulation time.
But their run of bad luck continued again as the clock ticked into six minutes of injury time and soon the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the match.
Al Hala will know they did not play up to par but they will be glad for the positive result as well as the valuable competitive match practice because their next game is the King Cup final on Friday against tough opponents Al Ahli.
They will be seeking to win their fourth title in that competition – and their first since 1981.
Meanwhile, in the other Nasser bin Hamad Premier League game last night, fifth-placed Al Ahli beat Budaiya, who are last in the table, 2-1 in another stirring encounter.
adnan@gdnmedia.bh
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