BAHRAIN’S under-23 Olympic football team defeated their counterparts from Thailand 3-2 yesterday to make a winning start in the Alpine Cup 2018, being played in Myanmar.
The event is an international friendly tournament featuring the under-23 Olympic squads of Bahrain, Thailand and hosts Myanmar, along with the under-19 national team of South Korea.
Bahrain are using this tournament as a part of their preparations for the upcoming 18th Asian Games, which are scheduled to take place later this month in Jakarta and Palembang in Indonesia.
Ahmed Saleh scored the winning goal in the second half after both teams headed into the break tied at 2-2.
Bahrainis Ahmed Al Sherooqi and Ahmed Boughammar had found the net for the national team in the first 45 minutes, while the Thais managed to equalise before the half-time whistle.
Al Sherooqi had opened the scoring from close range after receiving a precision cross from the right wing. All he needed was to tap the ball home, and he made no mistake.
Boughammar added Bahrain’s second right in the face of goal. It followed a long pass that was not cleared as it made its way into the box. Boughammar was then gifted the ball and he coolly sent it home from a metre out.
Bahrain’s winner was then supplied by Saleh who hit a powerful strike in the penalty area. A cross from the right was punched away by the Thailand goalkeeper but it went directly to a waiting Saleh, who in one motion managed to hit the ball home to secure his team the win.
Also yesterday, the South Koreans defeated the home side 4-3.
Meanwhile, action continues tomorrow with the Thais battling South Korea and Bahrain taking on the hosts. The third and final day of play will be on Sunday, when Bahrain and South Korea go head to head followed by Thailand and Myanmar battling it out.
Following the single round-robin, the team with the most points from their three matches played will be crowned champions. The winners will receive a financial reward of $10,000.
Head coach Samir ben Chammam has named a 23-player squad for the Alpine Cup. Following their tournament campaign, the team will travel directly to Indonesia for the final lead-up to the start of the men’s football tournament at the Asian Games.
His roster of 23 players comprises Saleh, Al Sherooqi, Boughammar, Hassan Al-Karani, Hussein Al-Khayyat, Abbas Al-Asfoor, Sayyed Hashem Isa, Sayyed Mohammed Amine, Jassim Khaleef, Yasser Mohammed, Sayyed Ibrahim Alawi, Ali Hassan, Adnan Fawaz, Hassan Madan, Musa’ab Omar, Abdulrahman Bourashid, Abdulaziz Khalid, Youssef Habib, Ammar Mohammed, Abdulaziz Al-Kandari, Abdulrahman Al-Ahmadi, Jassim Nour and Hussein Jameel.
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