FOOTBALL – SAIF-EDDINE Bouhra drove in a stunning injury-time winner to lift Al Khaldiya to a thrilling 2-1 victory against eight-man Riffa last night in an eventful matchweek 17 clash of the 2025-26 Nasser Bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League.
Bouhra scored with a well-hit, 106th minute effort from a couple of yards outside the box to gift his side the full three points in the titanic battle between two title hopefuls at the National Stadium in Riffa.
Khaldiya made the most of Riffa’s three player dismissals – first for Thiago Augusto Fernandes late in the opening half for an elbow to the face of Khaldiya’s Mohammed Adel on an aerial challenge. Their Lithuanian goalkeeper Dziugas Bartkus was then sent off with around 20 minutes remaining in regulation, as was substitute custodian Abdulkarim Fardan in stoppage time.
Fardan had earlier made a crucial save on a penalty taken by Bouhra following Bartkus’s ejection.
Previously in the contest, Brazilian midfielder Rodrigo Yuri Pires Franca put Riffa ahead with a first-half penalty. Franca later took over goalkeeping duties for Fardan and made a couple of key stops before Bouhra’s decisive goal.
Khaldiya drew level near the hour-mark when Riffa’s Yacouba Ichiaka Diarra inadvertently sent the ball into his own net.
With the exciting outcome, Khaldiya climbed back to solo first place on the standings, leapfrogging defending champions Muharraq who held the lead overnight. Riffa suffered a blow to their title ambitions as they fell eight points behind the new table-toppers.
Riffa were awarded a penalty as last night’s game neared the break when Khaldiya’s Irish defender Clyde O’Connell fouled Gabryel Monteiro de Andrade with an aerial challenge in the box.
Franca stepped forward to take the 42nd minute spot kick and he coolly sent the ball into the bottom-left corner of goal, past Khaldiya’s Portuguese keeper Ricardo Manuel da Silva. That was enough to send Riffa into the locker rooms with the slim edge, although they lost Fernandes right before the half-time whistle for his foul on Adel.
After the re-start, Khaldiya were back on level terms in the 58th minute with Diarra’s own goal as he looked to clear a cross from the right delivered by Nizar Elotmani.
The two teams continued to press ahead and Khaldiya were awarded a penalty after Bartkus was shown his second yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Elotmani in the 71st minute. Fardan came on and immediately made an impact, stopping Bouhra’s ensuing penalty kick with his legs.
But Fardan was later given a direct red card for taking down Khaldiya’s Gleison Wilson da Silva Moreira outside the area as Moreira charged forward on a quick counter-attack.
With Franca now manning the posts, Khaldiya looked to capitalise and Elotmani hit a curling free-kick in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time to almost find the target. Franca made enough of a deflection for the ball to bounce off the crossbar, preserving the deadlock.
Wellington Moreira then shot just wide for Riffa the very next minute and then Franca made another big stop in the 100th minute on a header from inside the six-yard box by Khaldiya’s DR Congo forward Joel Beya Tumuteka.
Another two minutes later, Khaldiya appealed for a penalty when Jassim Al Shaikh fouled Bouhra in the box, but none was given after a VAR check. That set the stage for Bouhra’s knockout blow, which flew to the right of goal past a surprised Franca.
Khaldiya came away with their league-best 14th win in 17 outings as they improved to 42 points with the result – two clear of Muharraq. Riffa remained on 34 points following their third defeat.
In another match yesterday played at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town, Malkiya and Al Ahli played to a goalless stalemate.
Malkiya went to 24 points on the standings to tie with Hidd and move on point behind fourth-ranked A’ali, while Ahli improved to 20 points right behind.
Last night’s fixtures wrapped up round 17 of this season’s Nasser Bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League. The next two weeks of games are scheduled to be held from April 16 to 18 and from April 27 to 29, respectively.
Action will now take place in the semi-finals of the 2025-26 His Majesty the King’s Cup this coming weekend, when Khaldiya and Riffa face off once again and Muharraq go up against Ahli.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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