FOOTBALL – SITRA and East Riffa played to a 1-1 stalemate last night as the battle to avoid relegation intensified on a busy evening that featured four matches in the penultimate round of the 2023-24 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier League.
Sitra and East Riffa are amongst the six clubs in the bottom half of the table who are in danger of finishing the season in the last four, which would drop them automatically to the second division or force them to play in a relegation play-off.
Others fighting to stay in the top flight are Al Shabab, Hidd and Al Hala, while Busaiteen are already officially demoted to the kingdom’s lower-tier football competition for 2024-25 following a 1-3 loss yesterday to Riffa.
Shabab improved their chances of avoiding the drop zone with a hard-earned 1-0 win against Al Ahli last night, while Hidd didn’t help themselves as they had a goalless draw with Manama.
With those results, the final week of league action will determine who will be a part of the bottom quartet. The teams finishing in 11th and last directly go down to division two, while ninth and 10th will compete in a play-off against Al Malkiya and Al Ettihad for two berths in the next season’s premiership.
In Sitra’s draw with East Riffa, Abdulwasi Al Matari put Sitra ahead in the 22nd minute with a goal from a yard outside the penalty area. That was enough to give them the advantage at the half, but then East Riffa drew level in the 68th minute when Fares Ghattasheh was on the receiving end of a long pass and fired into the roof of the net from close range with his second touch.
Sitra posted their 10th draw of the season and went to 25 points, while East Riffa had their eighth stalemate and are on 23 points.
Busaiteen’s hearts were broken in their loss against Riffa, ensuring their place in division two.
Vinicius Vargas was first on target for the victors in the 47th minute with a left-footed effort from the inner edge of the area, but Busaiteen equalised in the 68th minute when Saleh Al Zubaidi scored from just outside of six yards.
Riffa later sealed their win with goals from substitutes Ayman Al Harzi and Komail Al Aswad. Al Harzi first found the net in the 77th minute with a rocket from outside the area, before Al Aswad applied the nail in the coffin in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time.
Riffa won for the 10th time and went to 37 points to go up to second position, while Busaiteen suffered their 11th loss and remained last on 18 points.
In Shabab’s triumph, Alyson Romeu scored the game’s lone goal in the 49th minute to give his team the crucial three points. The Brazilian sent home a rebound after an attempt from countryman Mateus Eduardo Araujo was saved by Ahli’s Ebrahim Luthfallah.
Shabab improved to 24 points with their sixth victory as they steered clear, for now, of the bottom four, while Ahli remained on 30 points in the top half of the table.
In yesterday’s fourth fixture, Manama and Hidd could not find the net, giving both teams a share of the points. Manama are on 30 markers while Hidd are on 23.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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