FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN champions Al Khaldiya were handed a critical 1-2 defeat by Al Taawoun FC of Saudi Arabia last night in the 2024-25 AFC Champions League (ACL) Two.
Abdulfattah Adam and Sultan Mandash were on target for the hosts on either side of half-time at Wolves Park in the Saudi city of Buraidah.
Komail Al Aswad fired in Khaldiya’s lone consolation as the Bahrainis were unlucky not to come away with any points.
The match was the fifth and penultimate fixture for each side in Group B of the preliminary round in this year’s ACL Two.
The loss was Khaldiya’s second in five games and they remained with nine points on the table. Taawoun posted their fourth win in five outings and improved to 12 points in solo first place.
The defeat will prove crucial in the Bahrainis’ hopes of making it to the ensuing knockout stage as they are now tied on points in the standings with Air Force SC of Iraq, who defeated Altyn Asyr FC of Turkmenistan 2-0 in yesterday’s other divisional clash at Ashgabat Stadium in the Turkmenistan capital.
The win was the third for Air Force in five games and it put them in third place, behind Khaldiya only on goal difference. Altyn Asyr suffered their fifth loss and stayed winless with zero points.
The group is now headed for a crunch final matchday on Wednesday next week, which will decide the teams that advance to the round of 16, which will be held next year.
Khaldiya host Altyn Asyr at home, while Air Force welcome Taawoun to Al Madina International Stadium in Baghdad.
The ACL Two is the second-tier club competition of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Rebranded from the AFC Cup, it is one level below the AFC Champions League Elite and one above the AFC Challenge League.
There are 32 clubs from across Asia competing this season. They have been divided into eight groups for this opening phase, with only the top two from each advancing.
Taawoun opened the scoring last night in the 31st minute when Flavio Medeiros da Silva passed to an unmarked Adam, who headed home from close range.
Al Aswad then equalised in the 39th minute on a quick counter-attack. An Oussama Bellatreche effort in a one-on-one was saved by Taawoun goalkeeper Mailson Tenorio dos Santos, but the ball rebounded directly into Al Aswad’s path, and he sent it into an empty net.
After the interval, Khaldiya threatened and Igor Torres da Silva hit the crossbar with a shot from an acute angle.
But Taawoun regained the advantage in the 55th minute with a sloppy goal by Mandash. The Khaldiya back line were unable to clear a pass headed towards the face of goal, and Mandash was did enough to send an under-hit effort home.
Khaldiya tried to salvage a point and a shot from close range by Gleison Wilson da Silva Moreira was blocked by dos Santos.
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