FOOTBALL – BRAVE Bahrain salvaged a point yesterday in a last-gasp 2-2 stalemate with Turkmenistan in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers.
Hessa Alisa fired in the tying goal with practically the last kick of the evening after the Bahrainis fought back from twice going behind in the rain-hit Group C contest, played at Thuwunna Stadium in the city of Yangon in Myanmar.
Leleya Sabkar had earlier scored the nationals’ first strike, and then later supplied the assist for Alisa’s crucial equaliser. Both goal-scoring efforts came after Turkmenistan went ahead, with their goals coming from substitutes Mariya Charyyeva and Alymjanova Lachyn.
It was a thrilling finish for the two sides as all four conversions were within the last six minutes of regular time and during second-half stoppage time.
“I have mixed feelings about the game,” said Bahrain’s star striker Alisa. “We came today to win – it was a 50-50 game, there were ups and downs, but in the end, the most important thing is we did not lose and that we tried our best to win.
“The weather and the environment made us lose some concentration, but we got into the game in the last few minutes.
“This is a great tournament, and we thank Myanmar for hosting us. Everything is really great.”
Despite sharing the points, both Bahrain and Turkmenistan dropped out of contention from securing a berth at next year’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup. This is following Bangladesh’s 2-1 victory over hosts Myanmar in yesterday’s other divisional clash. That result earned the Bangladeshis their spot at the 2026 tournament finals in Australia as they improved to six points heading into the concluding match day on Saturday and hold the tie-break over Myanmar, who follow on three points. Bahrain are third and Turkmenistan last, both on a point apiece.
The Bahrainis battle hosts Myanmar in their final fixture on Saturday, scheduled for a 12.30pm kick-off, Bahrain time. Bangladesh and Turkmenistan face off in the other game.
Bahrain head coach Mohammed Adnan fielded a starting 11 yesterday that included Khulood Abdulla in goal, Eman Alkhattal, Fatema Alnesuf, Rawan Alali, Farah Khaled, Manar Yaqoob, Sama Qasem, Alanood Almannaei, Manayer Thani, Alisa and Sabkar.
After a goalless first half, both teams had a number of chances early after the re-start. But it wasn’t until the 84th minute that the scoreboard was lit up.
Charyyeva hit a stunning volley off a headed clearance, and her shot from the edge of the penalty box bounced off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net.
Turkmenistan’s celebrations were short lived, however, as Bahrain equalised just three minutes later. Substitute Amira Sowar had a weak attempt roll towards the net as goalkeeper Amanberdiyeva Aysha rushed off her line, but then a charging Sabkar was able to punch the ball home into an empty goal despite pressure from Bagshyyeva Merjen.
Turkmenistan were then back in front only two minutes on as Charyyeva delivered a fantastic through-pass to send Lachyn on a one-on-one with Bahrain’s Abdulla. Lachyn made no mistake with her effort to regain the advantage.
But just when it seemed that Bahrain would be suffering their second straight defeat in these qualifiers, Alisa provided the late-game heroics in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time. A fine pass from Sabkar released Alisa with only Aysha to beat, and the Bahraini star delivered a clinical finish to secure the dramatic point.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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