FOOTBALL – RIFFA goalkeeper Abdulkarim Fardan pulled off eight brilliant saves as Riffa defeated Al Shabab 3-1 in a Nasser Bin Hamad Premier League fixture at the Bahrain National Stadium to move into second place in the 12-team table.
Riffa, who came into the game with 13 points from seven games and were joint-fourth with Muharraq, now have 16 points and are just one adrift of table leaders Al Ahli, who have 17 points from nine games.
Al Shabab, meanwhile, who had eight points from eight games before this match, will stay on the same tally and remain in joint-seventh place with Hidd.
The fixture was originally scheduled for late October but had to be postponed because of a 2023-24 AFC Cup match Riffa featured in.
And it was Fardan who single-handedly ensured that Riffa eventually sealed what, on paper, looks like a comfortable win but which could easily have gone Al Shabab’s way.
Al Shabab will also rue not being able to finish off excellent plays, starting in the 10th minute when Fardan dived to his right to cut off a seemingly certain goal.
Just two minutes later, Riffa captain Komail Al Aswad pounced on a wayward back pass from an Al Shabab defender and sent the ball over goalkeeper Hamad Al Doseri’s head into the back of the net to put his side ahead, 1-0.
Another couple of minutes later, Fardan dived to save another goal before Riffa went 2-0 up in the 30th minute, courtesy of Ali Hassan who received a pass in the box, swivelled around and sent the ball screaming past three defenders and a wrong-footed Al Doseri into the goal.
Al Shabab had two more chances to score before half-time with both being sensationally saved by Fardan.
Al Shabab’s woes continued after the break as a header from Brazilian midfielder Romeu went just wide of the post and their night got even worse in the 57th minute when bad defending allowed Sayed Hashim Isa to tap the ball into the net for Riffa’s third goal.
Seven minutes later, Al Shabab’s subdued fans in the stands finally had something to cheer about as Brazilian forward Jaco finally managed to get one past Fardan.
But that was to be the only lapse from the Riffa goalkeeper with the large contingent of Riffa supporters dancing up a storm when the final whistle was blown.
The next round of matches begins tomorrow.
East Riffa (currently in joint-third place with Khaldiya on 14 points) will play Sitra (currently joint-fifth with Al Najma and Al Hala on 12 points) at the Muharraq Stadium while Khaldiya will face off with Al Hala at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium.