FOOTBALL – TWO-time defending champions Al Khaldiya were stunned by relegation-threatened East Riffa 2-3 last night in a heated round 15 encounter in the 2024-25 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier League.
Congolese professional Jacques Medina Iemopele fired in the winning goal just a minute after Khaldiya equalised in the second half, having fallen behind by two goals in the opening half-hour.
Iemopele put East Riffa first on the board after only five minutes and then Ivory Coast professional Edigno Yann Tape doubled their advantage in the 26th.
Omani Salaah Said Al Yahyaei then opened Khaldiya’s account seven minutes into the second half and then Bahrain international striker Mahdi Abduljabbar brought the game back on level terms with a 58th-minute penalty.
But that set the stage for Iemopele’s heroics, which earned East Riffa only their second win of the season.
In other fixtures yesterday, Chad professional Mahamat Yaya Elhadj scored in the fifth minute of second-half injury time to lift 10-man Sitra to a 3-2 victory over Al Ahli, while five different players were on target for Riffa in a 5-1 rout of Manama.
Last night’s games wrapped up the 15th week of league action.
In East Riffa’s upset of Khaldiya at the National Stadium in Riffa, Iemopele put them in front just five minutes in after scoring from close range off a rebound after a shot by Mauritanian teammate Ahmed Kory Denne was saved by Khaldiya custodian Mohamed Elgharably.
Tape then added East Riffa’s second in similar fashion after Malian import Daouda Toure had his shot stopped by Elgharably. The ball rebounded straight to Tape, who then slotted home.
Khaldiya went into the break in a 0-2 hole but responded quickly after the re-start. Al Yahyaei scored from inside the area to reduce their deficit in the 52nd minute, and then Khaldiya were awarded a penalty following a foul on Abduljabbar by East Riffa’s Mohamed Duaij. Abduljabbar stepped up to take the spot kick and slotted it straight into the net in the 63rd.
Khaldiya’s celebrations were short lived, however, as Iemopele sent in the winner the very next minute with a turning shot from inside the box. He received the assist from Brazilian Ebert Cardos Da Silva, who delivered a fine cross from the left.
Khaldiya pressed for another equaliser but were unlucky not to score, and with East Riffa’s Croatian goalkeeper Marin Ljubic making a number of key saves.
East Riffa improved to 11 points as they rose from the bottom of the table and are now second-to-last. Khaldiya missed a chance to narrow the gap to leaders Muharraq as they lost for only the third time and stayed on 32 points – six from the top.
Meanwhile, at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town, Sitra left it late against Ahli, who also fought back from two goals down.
Sitra took the lead at the quarter-hour with a goal from Brazilian Maicon Douglas Goulart. He headed home off a free-kick by Chad professional Ousmane Malloum Hassane. Yaya Al Hadj Ousman then took advantage of a defensive gaffe by Ahli to make it 2-0 in the 26th minute.
Ahli mounted a comeback after the interval and Baqer Alasfoor scored their first goal in the 67th minute with a header off a cross from Jamal Rashed. Hasan Madan then converted a 74th-minute penalty after Sitra’s Vincent Emmanuel was adjudged to have brought down Sayed Mahdi Sharaf in the area.
That earned Emmanuel a yellow card, and he was later given his marching orders following a second bookable offence when he fouled Alasfoor.
But Sitra got their winner deep into stoppage time when Elhadj made no mistake with his effort on a one-on-one with Ahli goalkeeper Sayed Shubar Alawi. Elhadj was released with a brilliant through-pass from teammate Soungalo Issa Bagayoko.
Sitra eked out their seventh win and improved to 26 points in third place on the standings, while Ahli suffered their eighth loss to stay on 17.
In last night’s other contest at Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium in Arad, Dutch professional Justin Mathieu was on target for Riffa in the first half, and then goals from Ali Haram, Brazilian Vinicius Vargas Dos Santos, Algerian Samy Frioui, and Ali Hasan Saeed gave Riffa the big win – their seventh, which saw them rise to 25 points.
Ahmed Ammar scored the lone consolation for Manama a minute before full time. They suffered their ninth defeat and are now last on the standings with 10 points.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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