A MAGNIFICENT goal in the last minute of injury time by Ali Brahima Doumbia propelled Al Ahli to a sensational 2-1 win over Riffa at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium last night.
With just seconds left till the final whistle and the score tied at 1-1, the centre-back from the Ivory Coast leapt high in the box to head the ball, looping towards him from a corner kick by Jamal Rashid Yousef, past Riffa goalkeeper Abdulkarim Abdulla into the back of the net before sprinting towards the bench where the ecstatic support staff and his overjoyed teammates enveloped him in a group hug.
The three points gained from the win mean that Al Ahli – who had come into the game at the top of the 12-team table with 14 points, one clear of three teams with 13 points each – continue to lead the standings with 17 points after notching up their fourth consecutive victory.
Just minutes before Doumbia’s moment of magic, though, the match seemed destined to head for a draw with the scoreboard reading 1-1 and both sides failing to convert scoring opportunities as the clock ticked past the regulation 90 minutes and into five minutes of injury time.
The pattern for both Al Ahli and Riffa missing repeated chances to score had been established in the scoreless first half but Al Ahli finally opened their account in the 59th minute before Riffa captain Komail Al Aswad headed in the equaliser 16 minutes later.
For Riffa – who were one of the three teams with 13 points, along with defending champions Khaldiya and East Riffa, coming into the latest round of matches – the loss means that they stay on the same tally behind Khaldiya, who now have 14 points after their 2-2 draw with Al Shabab at the Bahrain National Stadium last night.
But Riffa have played only seven matches in the season so far, two less than both Khaldiya and Al Ahli.
East Riffa, meanwhile, will have a chance to go past both Khaldiya and Riffa, if they manage to defeat 34-time champions Muharraq at the Bahrain National Stadium tonight and jump into second place in the standings with 16 points, just one less than Al Ahli.
However, Muharraq, who are among three teams currently with 12 points – Al Najma and Al Hala are the others – know that, if they win, they will catapult past Riffa, East Riffa and Khaldiya into second place with 15 points.
And Al Hala, who play Sitra (9 points from 7 matches) at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium tonight, could also see their tally jump to 15 points if they win, as could Al Najma, if they beat Manama (8 points from 8 matches) at the same venue tomorrow night.
Tonight’s games (both kick off at 7pm):
East Riffa vs Muharraq – Bahrain National Stadium; Al Hala vs Sitra – Khalifa Sports City Stadium.