Defending champions Al Najma staved off a strong challenge by a determined Al Dair side to win the final of the 2022-23 Bahrain Handball Association (BHA) Cup, 34-29, last night in front of a packed house at the Khalifa Sports City Arena and clinch a hat-trick of titles, having won the previous two editions of the championship.
The BHA Cup victory also means that Al Najma have achieved the coveted league-and-cup double after winning the Khalid bin Hamad Handball League last month for the fourth successive season.
But Al Najma were severely tested by a committed Al Dair team in last night’s final when, after having finished the first half leading 19-14 and leading 23-19 halfway through the second, they saw their opponents creep within two points at 23-21 with 13 minutes left in the game.
Mohammed Habib then scored a fine goal for the defending champions to make it 24-21 before Qassim Qamber scored two in quick succession to put them five points ahead at 26-21.
Hassan Abdullah Ali then replied with a goal off a rocket throw for Al Dair but Qamber fired a swift riposte of his own to ensure Al Najma were still five points ahead at 27-22.
With less than 12 minutes left, Al Dair needed a spark of inspiration from one of their players and Mohammed Jaffar Madan put his hand up, slinging a throw past lunging Al Najma goalkeeper Mohammed Abdulhussain to bring the deficit down to four at 23-27.
Less than a minute later, his brother Hassan Jaffar Madan brought it down to three points with Al Dair now within touching distance as 24-27.
But Al Najma’s Habib then sent the ball whizzing past Al Dair goalkeeper Hassan Abdullah to increase his team’s lead to four points again at 28-24.
With less than 10 minutes left in the game, Hassan Madan scored again for Al Dair with the scoreboard reading 25-28 in favour of Al Najma but, after the next couple of minutes failed to produce a goal for either team, Qamber scored twice in the span of a minute and half to make it 30-25.
There were now less than six minutes left till the final buzzer and the battling Al Dair players tried their best, time and again, to try and break through what seemed an increasingly impregnable Al Najma defence.
They finally succeeded when Ali Redhi scored twice with the scoreboard showing Al Dair had edged closer to Al Najma at 27-30 with slightly more than four minutes left to play.
But any hopes that the Al Dair players might have had of a miraculous, come-from-behind victory were dashed over the next minute and half as Habib and Qamber added two more goals to Al Najma’s total with their side leading by five points at 32-27.
Bilal Basham then increased the lead to six points at 33-27 but even though Al Dair’s Hussein Abdullah managed to score a goal for his side soon thereafter to bring the deficit down to five points again, Al Najma’s Mohammed Mirza promptly replied with a goal of his own to push the lead up to six again at 34-28 and less than 60 seconds left.
That was just enough time for Al Dair’s Mohammed Abdullah Ahmed to get one last goal for his side but his teammates knew the game was lost and started shaking hands with the Al Najma players even before the final buzzer sounded.
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