FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN suffered a tough 1-3 defeat to the UAE yesterday in their opening match of the third West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U19 Championship, being held in Taif, Saudi Arabia.
A goal by Issa Al Issa put the Bahrainis ahead in the first half, but the Emiratis were able to reply just two minutes later and then added another two goals within a two-minute span right after the re-start to secure the victory.
The nationals tried valiantly to fight back and had a few chances to score, but could not convert those opportunities.
Mohammed Al Mansoori had a brace for the Emiratis, including their first and third goals, while Ghaith Bader supplied the other.
Bahrain will be looking to bounce back from this Group C setback when they return to the pitch tomorrow against Palestine. That will also be played at Taif’s King Fahd Sports City Stadium with a 5pm kick-off, Bahrain time. The Emiratis face off with their Syrian counterparts in the other divisional fixture at 9pm tomorrow night.
Bahrain are scheduled to complete their preliminary round schedule on Sunday against Syria at 9pm at Okaz Club.
National team head coach Ali Sanqour fielded a starting 11 that included Al Issa, Rashid Majeran, Ali Aman, Ammar Al Basri, Saud Mohsen, Ahmed Al Bari, Abdulla Jamal, Jamal Alkhalaqi, Khaled Al Khelaif, Saif Al Buflasa and goalkeeper Ashraf Mubarak.
In the first half-hour, the Emiratis came close twice to finding the net, first with a shot that hit the crossbar and then again when Al Mansoori had a header bounce off the post following a cross from the left by teammate Hamdan Saeed.
The Bahrainis could have gone ahead in the 31st minute after Al Bari hit a brilliant rocket from around 50 yards out, but the low free-kick came off the right post.
Four minutes later, Al Issa found the target and put the nationals ahead. A shot by Jamal was saved by Emirati goalkeeper Hamad Almenhali, and then a cross that was cleared bounced off the top of the crossbar. The ball dropped right in front of Al Issa in the face of goal, and he needed only to tap the ball home.
Bahrain’s lead, however, did not last long as the UAE drew level just two minutes on. Al Mansoori scored from close range after the Bahrainis failed to clear a cross by Hazem Abbas.
Mubarak made a fine save for the nationals on the stroke of half-time, punching away an Al Mansoori volley from point-blank range and preserving the deadlock heading into the break.
When play resumed, the Emiratis were able to take full control of the contest with their game-changing goals in quick succession.
Bader scored with a deflected effort just a few moments after the whistle signalled the start of the second-half, and then Al Mansoori completed his brace from close range after an earlier header was saved by Mubarak.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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