FOOTBALL – MUHARRAQ extended their advantage atop the table in the 2024-25 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier League last night following a resounding 3-0 victory over Manama in their week seven match.
Three different players were on target for the victors, including Soufiane Saeed Mahrouk, Ahmed Al Sherooqi, and Edimar Ribeiro Da Costa Junior.
Da Costa Junior was also involved in his team’s first two goals, while taking back the solo lead in the rankings for league’s top scorer.
Muharraq went ahead in the 22nd minute after a goal from close range by Mahrouk. It came off a pass from Da Costa Junior, who took a quick free-kick from several yards outside the box to find his teammate in traffic. Mahrouk was able to fire into the net as his shot came off a Manama defender.
After the restart, Al Sherooqi doubled their advantage in the 55th minute. He received a fine assist from Da Costa Junior, which sent him for a one-on-one with Manama goalkeeper Redha Bahram Ghuloom. Al Sherooqi made no mistake with his shot from the right of the penalty area, which he sent to the bottom-left corner of the net with a clinical finish.
Da Costa Junior then capped their win with Muharraq’s third in the 73rd minute. A pass by Manama’s Yunes Moosa Hasan was blocked by Al Sherooqi in their own half, and then the ball rebounded towards goal and straight in the path of Da Costa Junior. He charged ahead and fired home past Ghuloom.
With the result, Muharraq improved to 17 points – four ahead of closest challengers Sitra who are on 13 in second place. They posted their fifth win in seven matches as they remained undefeated.
Da Costa Junior also brought his season tally to nine goals so far in league play.
Manama suffered their fourth loss in seven outings and stayed on five points in the bottom half of the standings.
In last night’s other contest, Al Ahli defeated A’ali 4-1. Abdulla Al Hashash spearheaded the winners with a hat-trick, with two of his goals coming in the first half, including a penalty right before the interval. Faisal Hasan Hejair supplied the other goal minutes before the final whistle.
On target for A’ali before the half was Brazilian Robson Da Silva.
Ahli won for the third time in six tries and rose to nine points, while A’ali were handed their fifth loss in seven matches and stayed in second-to-last place with four points.
Week seven in league action continues tonight with two games on schedule. Defending champions Al Khaldiya take on Malkiya and Riffa face off with East Riffa. Both games are scheduled for 7pm kick-offs.
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