Sitra and Bahrain Club posted their second successive victories last night to start the 2024-25 season in the Nasser Bin Hamad Bahrain Premier League.
Sitra outclassed Manama 4-1 at the National Stadium in Riffa while Bahrain Club battled back from a goal down to edge past East Riffa 2-1 at Shaikh Ali Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium in Arad.
In yesterday’s other fixture, Al Shabab defeated A’ali 2-1 at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town to register their first win of the new campaign.
Last night’s matches kicked off the second week of action in the kingdom’s top-tier football club competition. Another three matches are scheduled for simultaneous 7pm kick-offs this evening to wrap up an exciting week’s programme.
Tonight’s card will be highlighted by the titanic match-up between defending back-to-back champions Al Khaldiya and perennial contenders Riffa at the National Stadium. The other two games see Muharraq face off with Al Malkiya at Khalifa Sports City, and then, at Shaikh Ali Bin Mohammed Stadium, Al Ahli take on Al Najma.
In Sitra’s big win last night, Imran Ilyas Bakur Adam had a brace while Joel Vinicius Silva dos Anjos and Ousmane Malloum Hassane added a goal apiece.
Dos Anjos opened their account in the 34th minute with a Badar Bashir Abdallah assist. Dos Anjos took full advantage of some porous defence from Manama and slotted into the net.
Adam then made it 2-0 in the 51st minute with 14 minutes of first-half injury time being allocated. Adam headed in from inside the six-yard box off a corner kick that failed to be cleared by the Manama defence.
Manama got a goal back right before the break after Hasan Abdulnabi Ateya scored with a brilliant turning shot.
East Riffa’s Mohammed Abdulwahab is defended closely by Bahrain Club opponents during their match
Sitra then restored their two-goal cushion in the 75th with a finely hit free-kick by Adam from more than 30 yards. His effort bounced off the bottom of the crossbar and into the goal before bouncing back out.
Hassane later applied the nail in the coffin a minute before full-time, firing in from close range following a brilliant one-two with fellow-substitute Yaya Al Hadj Ousman.
Sitra improved to a full six points from their opening two assignments while Manama stayed with zero after another heavy defeat.
In Bahrain Club’s victory, Michel Darlyn Dias Rocha headed in from inside the box to break a 1-1 deadlock and gift his team the winner, just three minutes from the end of regular time.
Rocha’s decider was his team’s second goal in the final quarter-hour as they walked away with a come-from-behind triumph.
Earlier in the contest, Luiz Fernando Correa Sales put East Riffa in front in the 40th minute after a one-on-one with Bahrain Club goalkeeper Sayed Mohsen Yusuf. The victors then hit back in the 75th when Anderson Salviano Veloso Junior headed in off a cross from the right wing supplied by Abdulla Mubarak Zayed.
There was some late drama in the game when East Riffa were awarded a penalty deep into stoppage time, when the ball hit the arm of Rocha in the penalty area. However, after a VAR review, the decision was overturned and Bahrain Club held on until the final whistle.
Bahrain Club went to six points while handing East Riffa a second straight loss. They stayed on zero markers.
In last night’s third game, Shabab also came away with a late clincher. Mujtaba Abdali Husain provided the heroics in the second minute of second-half stoppage time, heading in from close range off a free-kick by teammate Faisal Abudahoom.
A’ali went ahead in the 28th minute with a Mauirico Osmar Rodrigues Britto goal off a cross from Marko Gavrilovic. It then took Shabab nearly an hour to reply. Sayed Ebrahim Alawi scored after A’ali goalkeeper Mohamed Hassan Elaaoud could not control a high pass. Elaaoud dropped the ball as he attempted to collect, and Alawi pounced on the opportunity and tapped it in for his 83rd minute equaliser.
Shabab claimed their first victory and went to three points on the league table, while handing A’ali their second straight defeat.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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