FOOTBALL – KAMEEL Al Adhem fired in a winner in extra-time to send Riffa into the final last night of the all-new Khalid Bin Hamad Cup.
Al Adhem scored in the 113th minute to lift Riffa to a hard-earned 3-2 victory over Al Ahli at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town.
Riffa survived a scare against their battling rivals, who fought back after twice falling behind. Ahli also had to play with just 10 men over the last four minutes of regular time, nine minutes of second-half injury time, and all the additional 30 minutes of the extra session. Baqer Alasfoor was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Bahrain national team stars Hamad Shamsan and Jassim Al Shaikh were earlier on target for Riffa, while scoring for Ahli with a pair of equalisers were Argentinian Facundo Agustin Tobares and Abdulla Al Hashash.
Shamsan was later named the Player of the Match.
The inaugural edition of the Khalid bin Hamad Cup, which offers a cool BD50,000 prize to the winning team, features the top four clubs from the 2023-24 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier League.
This prestigious tournament is being held under the patronage of Supreme Council for Youth and Sport first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman, and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Riffa now move on to play the winner of the other match between two-time defending national champions Al Khaldiya and current league leaders Muharraq. Their game is scheduled for a 7pm kick-off tonight at the same venue.
The tournament final is slated for Tuesday evening.
In last night’s affair, Shamsan opened Riffa’s account in the 39th minute. He headed in from close range off a fine cross from the right supplied by Brazilian teammate Wellington Machado Moreira. That was enough to give their team the slim lead at the break.
Early in the second half, Ahli were able to draw level with a Tobares penalty in the 53rd minute. They were awarded the spot kick after Hazza Ali brought Tobares down in the area, and following a lengthy VAR check.
Riffa then regained the advantage in the 71st minute when Al Shaikh scored from the face of goal. He sent in a rebound after a shot by Vinicius Vargas Dos Santos of Brazil was saved by Ahli’s star goalkeeper Ebrahim Luthfallah. The ball fell to his feet and Al Shaikh simply tapped home from inside the six-yard box.
But it wasn’t long until Ahli equalised for the second time. An Al Hashash header in the 78th minute was determined to have crossed the goal line before Ali headed it back out.
Alasfoor was then given his marching orders for a foul on Dos Santos as the Riffa striker was charging towards goal on a quick counter-attack.
That set the stage for extra-time and Al Adhem’s late winner. He scored from an acute angle on the right after receiving a pass from the other side of the box delivered by Fahad Jasim Busharar. Al Adhem’s low effort made it past Luthfallah and into the bottom-left corner of the net.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))