BAHRAIN dominated Myanmar 4-1 last night in an international friendly match played at the National Stadium in Riffa.
Jamal Rashed and Sayed Redha Essa were both on target for the hosts on either side of a Mohammed Marhoon brace.
Rashed supplied the opening goal from the penalty spot, enough to give the Bahrainis a slim 1-0 lead at the half. The nationals then enjoyed a three-goal onslaught in the final 45 minutes, but not without giving up a lone consolation to their opponents.
The game was played as part of both teams’ preparations for upcoming tournaments, including the 2019 AFC Asian Cup for Miroslav Soukup-coached Bahrain.
Myanmar were a late replacement for Palestine in yesterday’s exhibition. The Palestinians were originally scheduled to play; however, they withdrew less than a week before the match.
Bahrain’s victory was a welcome result as it followed their 0-1 defeat to Syria in their previous friendly match played last week at the same venue.
Forward Mahdi Abduljabbar had a couple of great chances to begin the match, as did midfielder Abdulla Abdo whose shot in the face of goal was just inches wide of the left post.
The Bahrainis were then awarded a penalty two minutes before the half when Jamal Rashed appeared to be taken down by Myanmar midfielder David Htan just as Rashed was making his way into the box for a potential scoring opportunity.
Effort
Rashed picked himself up to take the spot kick, and he sent the ball straight into the net with a left-footed effort as Myanmar goalkeeper Kyaw Zin Htet dove to his left.
Mayanmar also had a great chance in the first half but Bahrain goalkeeper Abdulkarim Fardan made a brilliant save to help maintain their narrow advantage at the interval.
After the re-start, Bahrain were red hot and Marhoon fired in his first goal of the night in the 49th minute. The talented forward pounced on a brilliant cross from the right wing by Essa, making no mistake with his header.
The Bahrainis were then caught sleeping by Myanmar just two minutes later. A botched clearance went directly into the path of Myanmar’s Myat Kaung Khant, and the midfielder did well to fend off two Bahraini markers before slotting the ball past Fardan.
Any concerns for Bahrain at this point were eased seven minutes after the hour-mark when Marhoon headed home for his second goal of the night, this time off a precision cross from midfielder Sayed Dhiya Saeed from the left wing for a commanding 3-1 lead.
Two minutes later, Saeed was instrumental once more in supplying another assist for Bahrain’s fourth goal – this time operating from the right flank. Saeed’s cross was met by Essa just metres from the goal line, and he collected the pass with one touch before sending the ball into the net.
Bahrain could have added three more goals before the final whistle, but Myanmar’s Htet was up for the challenge and he made three fantastic saves late in the contest to prevent any further damage.