Defending champions Al Najma raised title hopes by defeating Ettihad 2-1 in their round of 16 first-leg match of the King Cup Football Competition at Bahrain National Stadium last night.
In other first-leg matches, Al Hidd defeated Sitra 1-0 and Al Ahli draw 2-2 with Manama while East Riffa’s game against Isa Town ended goalless.
Al Najma got off to a solid start with two goals scored in the first 17 minutes. The first goal came in the eighth minute through Ibrahim Habeeb’s penalty kick after Ali Madan was fouled inside the box. Al Najma made it 2-0 when man of the match Ali Madan scored in the 17th minute.
Ettihad, however, reduced the margin when Ali Abdulla scored just 40 seconds into the second half. Al Najma dominated the second half but could not add to the scoreline after wasting a number of chances.
In the other match held at same venue, second division league team Isa Town managed to hold Nasser bin Hamad Premier League leaders East Riffa to a 0-0 draw. East Riffa dominated the game from the start but failed to score any goal.
Meanwhile, at Khalifa Sports City Stadium, Tunisian Saleem Al Mazleeni netted the lone goal of the match to help Al Hidd defeat Sitra 1-0. The goal came in the 49th minute.
At the same venue, Manama scored an injury time goal to hold Al Ahli to a 2-2 draw.
The first half ended 1-0 after Kotob Eldeen Mohammed scored for Al Ahli. Al Ahli made it 2-0 in the 55th minute through Mahdi Hemaidan.
However, Manama scored two goals in the last three minutes of the match to stage a remarkable comeback. Their first goal was scored through a penalty kick by Brazilian Erick. The equaliser came in the injury time through Mohammed Sa’ad Al Romaihi.
The second legs will be played on Saturday.