East Riffa defeated a battling Al Ittifaq 2-0 in the second round of the Nasser Bin Hamad Premier League promotion/relegation play-offs at Khalifa Sports City Stadium last night to keep their hopes alive of avoiding relegation to the Second Division next season.
Having led 1-0 at half time, East Riffa – who won their only Premier League title in 1993-94 – survived a few nervous moments through the second half before Flavio Silva put them 2-0 ahead in the 82nd minute with a gentle kick off a pass from Yuri Messias that sent the ball curling over Al Ittifaq goalkeeper Salman Omar into the net.
But it could have ended differently for Al Ittifaq if their captain, Kadhim Hameed Mohammed’s left-footed attempt at the East Riffa goal hadn’t resulted in the ball bouncing off the crossbar in the 55th minute.
Just nine minutes later, Al Ittifaq had another chance to draw level at 1-1 when Emmanuel Joseph pounced on a beautiful through pass from Mohammed on the right and sent the ball skimming across the grass in front of the East Riffa goal but none of his teammates managed to reach it with only goalkeeper Ayad Abdulla Salem to beat.
East Riffa, themselves, came to rue a couple of missed chances over the next period of play as, just a couple of minutes later, Moeed Sameer’s cross from the left in the Al Ittifaq box found no takers and, just four minutes later, Messias’ shot from distance went wide of the left goalpost.
Earlier, after a sedate start to the game which saw few attempts at goal by either team, Obus Prince Aggreh put East Riffa 1-0 up in the 34th minute with a dazzling display of dribbling which saw him weave his way past three defenders in the Al Ittifaq box before unleashing a fierce left-footed kick that sent the ball whizzing past Omar’s right shoulder.
Meanwhile, in the other second round game last night, Al Hala – who won their lone Premier League title in 1978-79 – drew 1-1 with A’ali, meaning that the play-offs are interestingly poised as they head into the third and final round of matches on Tuesday.
Both East Riffa and Al Hala, who finished ninth and 10th respectively, in the 2022-23 Nasser Bin Hamad Premier League are trying to avoid relegation to the Second Division.
And A’ali and Al Ittifaq, who finished third and fourth respectively, in the Second Division are trying to gain promotion into the Premier League.
East Riffa lead the four-team play-offs table currently with four points from two games after drawing their first game with Al Hala while Al Ittifaq are in second place with three points because of their win against A’ali in their first match.
Al Hala, who have drawn both their games, are in third place with two points while A’ali languish in last place with one point from their draw last night.
The top two teams at the end of the third round of matches will go through to – or remain in – the top-tier competition while the remaining two will play in the Second Division next season.
Bahrain Club and Budaiya – the two teams that finished 11th and 12th in the Premier League this year – have already been relegated to the Second Division.
And Al Najma and Busaiteen, who occupied the top two slots at the end of the Second Division this season, have already been promoted to the Premier League.
The stage is now set to find out on Tuesday who will join them in Bahrain’s premier football competition next year with all four teams in the play-offs still in the running for those crucial two Premier League spots.
If Al Hala win their last game against Al Ittifaq, their points tally will jump to five. But, if Al Ittifaq win, they will have six points.
And, should East Riffa draw with A’ali, their tally will also be five points. But, if they win, it will go up to seven.
But, if A’ali win, their tally will jump to four, putting them level with East Riffa.
Four teams vying for two spots and two exciting games to look forward to. Football fans in Bahrain couldn’t have asked for a more exciting conclusion to the 2022-23 season.