FOOTBALL – AL Khaldiya and Riffa barged into the semi-finals last night of the 2024-25 His Majesty the King’s Cup.
Khaldiya romped past Al Hala 6-2 at the National Stadium in Riffa, while Riffa edged past a battling East Riffa 7-6 on penalties in a nail-biting derby match played at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town. The game remained deadlocked at 2-2 after extra-time.
Khaldiya will now take on Muharraq in a mouth-watering clash in the final four. Both teams are currently the top two contenders in this season’s Nasser Bin Hamad Bahrain Premier League and are looking to lift the His Majesty the King’s Cup as well.
Riffa, on the other hand, face off with Sitra.
The semi-finals have yet to be scheduled by the Bahrain Football Association.
The His Majesty the King’s Cup is the kingdom’s richest annual tournament. It is a single-elimination competition featuring sides from both the Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier League and the Bahrain Second Division.
In Khaldiya’s stunning victory, Bahrain international striker Mahdi Abduljabbar and Jordanian professional Nizar Al Rashdan both had braces in the first half. Mohammed Al Rumaihi and Ali Al Azaizeh, also from Jordan, scored their other goals.
Abduljabbar opened their account in the fourth minute when he tapped the ball into an empty net from close range. Al Rashdan then scored in the 13th minute with a low effort from distance that took a deflection before rolling in. Al Rashdan scored again just five minutes later with a header from inside the six-yard box, and then Abduljabbar made it 4-0 in the opening minute of first-half added time with a shot from inside the area.
Hala got their first goal from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute, converted by French professional Mamadou Lamine Diawara, but then Al Rumaihi made it 5-1 in the 66th minute from inside the box.
Hala’s Ali Jamal reduced the deficit in the 90th minute after tapping in from close range off a Diawara assist, but then Al Azaizeh applied the nail in the coffin five minutes into second-half stoppage time with a left-footed effort from close range.
In Riffa’s triumph, Algerian playmaker Samy Frioui was first to score in only the third minute of the match. East Riffa then levelled the game in the 28th minute when Brazilian Wallison Alex Souza Silva slotted home from inside the area.
Substitute Wellington Machado Moreira, also from Brazil, then scored with a 111th-minute header for Riffa off a short cross delivered by Syrian Mohammad Al Hallak, but then East Riffa’s Croatian goalkeeper Marin Ljubic levelled it once more with a header in the 123rd minute, setting the stage for the shootout, which went to nine spot kicks apiece.
Riffa recovered from an early scare when Ljubic made a stunning save against Frioui. After more drama, Abdulkarim Al Fardan provided the end-game heroics. He first made a save against Silva to preserve the score at 6-6, and after Fahad Jasim Busharar scored to give Riffa the 7-6 advantage, Al Fardan made the game-clinching stop against East Riffa’s Croatian professional Luka Simunovic.
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