FOOTBALL – TEN-man Bahrain suffered a late 1-2 defeat to Yemen last night in their concluding Group B game in the 26th Gulf Cup in Kuwait.
Harwan Al Zubaidi scored the match winner from close range for the Yemenis with only two minutes remaining in regular time.
The match had no bearing on the national team’s title ambitions as they had already secured their place in the semi-finals following two victories from their first two assignments against Saudi Arabia and defending champions Iraq.
Earlier in yesterday’s affair, Ebrahim Al Khattal had an own goal in the first half but substitute Mohammed Al Rumaihi equalised for the Bahrainis as the match entered its final half-hour.
The nationals were then forced to finish the contest a man down after veteran defender Sayed Mahdi Baqer was sent off in the 73rd minute. He was given his marching orders after fouling Yemen’s Nasser Ahmed Al Gahwashi, who was the last man in a quick counter-attack, preventing a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
The result was Bahrain’s first and only loss in the competition’s preliminary stage, which they finished as Group B winners with six points. Saudi ranked second in the group and also went through to the last four after eliminating the Iraqis from further contention with a 3-1 win in last night’s other divisional clash.
The nationals took the top spot in their pool based on their head-to-head result against Saudi, according to the tournament’s tie-break rules.
Bahrain thus take on Group A runners-up and hosts Kuwait in the last four on New Year’s Eve on Tuesday, in a game scheduled for an 8.45pm kick-off. The Saudis play Group winners Oman in the other semi-final, set to begin at 5.30pm. Both times are Bahrain.
With their place in the semis already secured, Bahrain head coach Dragan Talajic opted to rest his regular starters and fielded a completely different first 11 for their match against Yemen.
Sayed Mohammed Jaafar was in goal, while joining him on the pitch were Baqer, Mohammed Adel, Vincent Emmanuel, Hazza Ali, Abdulwahab Al Malood, Jassim Al Shaikh, Ahmed Al Sherooqi, Al Khattal, Al Rumaihi, and 16-year-old Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, who made history as the youngest-ever player to compete in a Gulf Cup game, according to the Bahrain Football Association.
The nationals had a chance in the 15th minute to go ahead with an Al Rumaihi header, but he hit the crossbar off a cross from the left supplied by Al Malood.
In the 30th minute, Al Khattal shot straight at Yemen goalkeeper Mohammed Khairalah, and then in the 41st minute was involved in Yemen taking the lead. Al Khattal tried to clear a cross sent in from the left flank by Gahwashi, but the ball instead grazed his leg and went past Jaafar into the net. That was enough to give the Yemenis the advantage heading into the break.
After the restart, Al Rumaihi levelled the score for Bahrain in the 63rd minute with an assist by Al Khattal. He delivered a low cross from the right wing and Al Rumaihi fired home from close range with a single touch.
Al Khattal then had a golden opportunity to put the nationals in front in the 81st minute following some fine approach play from substitute Mohammed Jassim Marhoon on the left of the penalty area. He passed to Al Khattal, but his low show was just inches off target on the left post.
The match appeared headed for a standoff with both teams coming away with a point, but Yemen’s Al Zubaidi came up with some end-game heroics for his side.
After being awarded a free-kick from several yards outside the box, Abdulmajeed Sabarah tried to sneak in a shot past the Bahraini defence, but his effort was underhit and Al Zubaidi was in perfect position to tap the ball into the net before Jaafar could punch it away.
The linesman had originally signalled for offside, but following a VAR check, Yemen were awarded the goal, giving them their only win of the tournament.
The winners of Tuesday’s semi-finals will clash in the championship game on Friday next week.
The tournament champions will come away with a cool $1million in prize money, while the runners-up will pocket $750,000.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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