FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN came away with a thrilling 3-1 victory over 10-man Sudan last night as they wrapped up their campaign on a positive note in the Fifa Arab Cup 2025, currently being played in Doha, Qatar.
Mahdi Abduljabbar and substitutes Mohammed Al Rumaihi and Mahdi Humaidan were all on target for the kingdom’s senior men’s football national team. Teammate Vincent Emmanuel also gifted Sudan a goal, sending the ball into his own net after their opponents went a man down.
Emmanuel’s gaffe brought the match level with just under 20 minutes remaining in regular time, but Al Rumaihi came to the rescue with a penalty and then Humaidan applied the nail in the coffin late on.
With the result at Education City Stadium, the Bahrainis claimed their only triumph in this year’s 16-national regional competition as they made an early exit along with the Sudanese.
The nationals improved to three points to finish third on the Group D standings behind table-toppers and defending champions Algeria and second-placers Iraq, both of whom made it through to the quarter-finals. Sudan ranked last in their pool with one point.
The Algerians secured first place with seven points after defeating the Iraqis 2-0 in last night’s other divisional fixture at Khalifa International Stadium in the Qatari capital. Iraq, who ended the group stage with six points, were also reduced to 10 men in their contest.
Bahrain are out of the competition after the preliminary round for the second straight edition of the Fifa Arab Cup. It was their last event of the calendar year, one which they began by being crowned champions of the 26th Gulf Cup in Kuwait.
In last night’s encounter, Bahrain head coach Dragan Talajic fielded a starting 11 that included Mohammed Elgharably in goal; Emmanuel, Waleed Al Hayyam, Sayed Mahmoud Almosawi, and Abdulla Al Khalasi in defence; skipper Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Ali Madan, Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Komail Al Aswad, and Jassim Al Shaikh in a five-man midfield; and Abduljabbar as the lone striker.
Al Shaikh could have scored just two minutes after kick-off but hit a poor effort from inside the box that was easily collected by Sudan goalkeeper Mohamed Alnour. That was the first of four early chances for Bahrain. Abduljabbar attempted a turning shot, also from within the area, but it went straight to Alnour off a brilliant lobbed pass from Madan. Emmanuel then had a shot that was marginally off target in the 12th minute, as did Madan, who came just inches wide of the left post in the 18th.
Abduljabbar finally put Bahrain in front in the 37th minute after some brilliant approach play from Al Khalasi. The crafty defender intercepted a short pass from the Sudan back line and charged towards goal with Abduljabbar to his left. He then delivered the perfect low cross and Abduljabbar made no mistake with his clinical strike – sending the ball with a single touch to the bottom-right corner of the net.
Abduljabbar had a golden opportunity to double their advantage only two minutes later from just outside the six-yard box. But after receiving a pass from Madan, he shot straight to Alnour, who deflected the ball to safety for a corner kick.
After the break, Elgharably made a good save on a shot by Ammar Tayfour in the 53rd minute.
Sudan’s Mohamed Ahmed was then given his marching orders five minutes later after striking Abduljabbar in the face. A VAR review confirmed the incident, and the referee determined it to be a violent act for a straight red card.
Despite their disadvantage, Sudan pressed hard and threatened on a number of occasions. They then stunned Bahrain by drawing level in the 72nd minute after Elgharably failed to deal with a long cross towards goal. Emmanuel then inadvertently sent the ball into his own net as he tried to clear, gifting the Sudanese the equaliser.
But in the 75th minute, Madan was brought down in the area by Sudan’s Mustafa Mohammed. The spot kick was originally not given, but after a VAR check, the referee confirmed that Madan was tripped, and Al Rumaihi stepped forward to send the ball to the left of goal.
Humaidan was then on target two minutes from full time. He cleverly left a pass from fellow-sub Sayed Hashem Isa from the left to Madan, who then delivered a precision assist as Humaidan made his way towards goal. Humaidan needed only to tap the ball home in a one-on-one with Alnour and he sealed the final result for Bahrain.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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