FOOTBALL – MUHARRAQ took charge last night of their hugely exciting, two-horse title race with Al Khaldiya in the 2025-26 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League.
The defending champions edged past their chief championship rivals 2-1 in a thriller yesterday played in front of a large crowd of fans at the National Stadium in Riffa.
Brazilian professional Arther Rodrigues Rezende fired in a brace to help lift Muharraq to the all-important result, which propelled them to first place on the table – leapfrogging Khaldiya – with only one matchweeek remaining this season.
Dominique Mendy scored the lone consolation for Khaldiya. They had to play the last quarter-hour of regular time, plus 10 minutes of second-half stoppage time, a man down after goalkeeper Ricardo Manuel da Silva was sent off.
Despite their defeat, Khaldiya are still in the title fight but are now a point behind Muharraq.
The league’s 22nd and concluding round is scheduled for this coming Friday to Sunday, with Khaldiya facing Al Najma on Friday and Muharraq going up against A’ali on Sunday.
Khaldiya’s Hazza Ali was first to threaten in last night’s match with an attempt from quarter-length of the pitch as he tried to catch Muharraq’s Serbian goalkeeper Vladan Dekic off his line. His long-range effort from the left wing was on target but Dekic parried the ball just enough for it to bounce off the crossbar and stay out.
Mendy then put Khaldiya in front in the 12th minute with a powerful strike from a few yards outside the box following some impressive lead-up play by his teammates, which culminated with a Gleison Wilson Moreira assist.
Khaldiya avoided disaster in the 17th minute when da Silva stopped a clearance effort by Irish teammate Clyde O’Connell that headed towards their own goal.
In the 22nd minute, da Silva made a key save on an attempt from distance by Muharraq’s Portuguese import Elliot Jorge Simoes Inacio. Seconds later, however, Muharraq were given a penalty after Hussain Abdulkarim was brought down in the area by Mohammed Adel. Rezende shouldered the responsibility of taking the spot kick, which he coolly sent into the bottom-left corner of the net, bringing Muharraq back on level terms.
Rezende later gave Muharraq the advantage in the 36th minute when he fired in from near the penalty spot off a fine pass from teammate Soufiane Saeed Mahrouk. Rezende made no mistake with his low shot, slotting past da Silva into the same corner as his opener.
In the second half, Mohammed Al Rumaihi had a golden opportunity to equalise for Khaldiya but his 70th minute attempt rolled just inches wide of the right post. That was their best chance before the final whistle, and they were later down to 10 men when da Silva was shown a red card in the 74th minute for handling the ball outside the area as he tried to halt a Muharraq attack.
Facundo Agustin Tobares could have added a third for Muharraq when he sent the ball home in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, but the referee had called for a stop in play after Khaldiya’s substitute goalkeeper Hamad Aldoseri was fouled by Samy Frioui just prior to Tobares’ shot.
With the result, Muharraq claimed their 16th win of the season and improved to 52 points – one ahead of Khaldiya, who suffered their fourth loss.
Muharraq’s clash with Khaldiya yesterday headlined a busy three-game schedule that wrapped up the league’s 21st matchweek.
At Al Ahli Club Stadium in Mahooz, Riffa claimed a 2-0 triumph against Malkiya in another game between two sides in the league’s top four.
Brazilians Gabryel Monteiro de Andrade and Samuel Conceicao Toscas were both on target for the winners. De Andrade scored from close range in the 65th minute to open Riffa’s account, and then Toscas put the game away with a stunner in the fourth minute of second-half injury time, driving the ball in from well outside the area.
Riffa registered their 14th win and rose to 46 points, while handing Malkiya their sixth loss as they stayed on 33.
Also last night at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town, Jordanian striker Mohammad Ahmed Aleikish found the net from close range in the 58th minute to give Hidd a 1-0 victory over Al Ahli.
Hidd improved to 27 points on the standings with their seventh triumph, while Ahli suffered their ninth setback and dropped one spot behind them with 26 points.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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