FOOTBALL – MANAMA signed off from the 2023-24 Nasser Bin Hamad Bahrain Premier League last night with a hard-earned 2-1 victory over Riffa at the National Stadium in Riffa.
Suelynton Thiago and Salem Hussain were both on target for the victors in the second half, while Riffa substitute Mohammed Anz supplied their lone consolation late in the contest.
The game was the last fixture on the season schedule in the kingdom’s top flight.
After the opening 45 minutes finished goalless, Manama opened their account in the 50th minute with a stunning goal from the inside edge of the penalty area by Thiago. The Brazilian masterfully split the Riffa defence of Jassim Al Shaikh and Saud Hussain Al Assam, set up his shot brilliantly, and fired into the bottom-left corner.
Manama then doubled their advantage nine minutes later. Hussain fired in from near the penalty spot after a Manama corner-kick was poorly cleared.
Six minutes before the end of regular time, Riffa got a goal back. Brazilian Vinicius Vargas did well to fend off his marker and sent a low pass from the left of the area to Anz, who made no mistake with one-touch effort from the six-yard box.
Neither team could add to the score line from there, as Manama came away with their ninth victory in 22 games to improve to 33 points on the league’s final standings, while Riffa suffered their fifth loss to stay on 37 markers.
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