FOOTBALL – Sitra got off to a hot start last night as the 2025-26 season of the Nasser Bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League kicked off.
Ousman Yaya Al Hadj fired in a brace – with a goal each on either side of half-time – to help lift Sitra to a resounding 4-1 win against Bahrain Club at the National Stadium in Riffa.
Meanwhile, in yesterday’s other fixture, Malkiya held Hidd to a 2-2 stalemate at Shaikh Ali Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium in Arad.
Malkiya were first to strike in the contest but Hidd later took the lead, only for Malkiya to equalise through Ghanian import Samuel Sarfo heading into the game’s final 20 minutes.
Both matches were part of match week one in the new season of the kingdom’s top flight.
Action continues tonight and tomorrow with another two matches apiece on each day.
Defending champion Muharraq kick off their title defence this evening against long-time rivals Al Ahli.
Their contest will take place at Shaikh Ali Bin Mohammed Stadium.
At the National Stadium, Al Khaldiya face off with A’ali. Both games are scheduled for 5pm starts.
Week one then wraps up tomorrow with two more fixtures.
At Shaikh Ali Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium, Al Shabab take on Budaiya, while at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town, Al Najma lock horns with Riffa.
In Sitra’s triumph last night, Bahrain Club were first to strike in the 11th minute when Brazilian Carlos Patrick Barros sent in a rocket from nearly 30 yards out.
His effort flew past Sitra goalkeeper and captain Abbas Ahmed into the top-left corner of the net.
Sitra then drew level in the 22nd minute, when Al Hadj guided the ball past Bahrain Club’s custodian Ahmed Abdulrasool Abdulla.
Al Hadj was on the receiving end of a brilliantly chipped pass from Brazilian teammate Rodrigo Santos Varanda, and he simply tapped the ball into goal.
Sitra were then in front five minutes later from the penalty spot. They were awarded their spot kick following a handball by Bahrain Club’s Gabriel Araujo dos Santos from Brazil off an Al Hadj cross.
Yemeni professional Abdulwasea Abdullah Almatari converted the penalty with a shot into the bottom-left corner. That was enough to give Sitra the 2-1 advantage at the break.
After the re-start, they stretched their lead when Al Hadj headed in off an Almatari corner kick in the 66th minute.
They then applied the nail in the coffin with a quarter-hour remaining when Ahmed Saleh Rashid sent a fine cross into the box to an unmarked Kari Kari Maxanc Aristophane, who slotted the ball home to seal the 4-1 result.
In Malkiya’s draw with Hidd, Malkiya went ahead in the 20th minute with a goal from Mohamed Faleh, who fired in from the edge of the box.
Hidd then got a penalty late in first-half injury time after skipper Talal Jumaa was fouled by Malkiya goalkeeper Godwill Chia Ndang in the area.
Issa Mousa stepped forward to take the spot kick, and he made no mistake to draw level at 1-1.
Hidd then went ahead in the 62nd minute with a stunning volley from Mauritanian professional Bekaye Wade.
But Malkiya equalised just seven minutes on when Sarfo sent in a loose ball after Hidd goalkeeper Mohammed Abdulrahim Algharabli saved a header off a corner kick.
The two sides thus came away with a share of the points.
The 2025-26 Nasser Bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League is to be played in a double round-robin.
The first round will continue until the 11th week, which starts on January 8 next year, while the ensuing 11 match weeks have yet to be scheduled.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))