Al Nawayef steers into quarter-final

Manama : Al Nawayef team sealed a quarter finals place after drawing 1-1 with Al Saqr Al Abyadh in the latest matches in Group 3 of Nasser 10 Football Tournament at the Khalifa Sports City Football Stadium in Isa Town.

The draw gave Al Nawayef a points tally of seven and progression as group leaders, while Al Saqr Al Abyadh made it to four points after previously being on three. 

It was Al Saqr Al Abyadh who took the lead through Samoaal Al Ser in the 43rd minute, before Al Nawayef levelled the score two minutes later through Anwar Abdullah as their opponent completed the match with 10 men after their goalkeeper received a straight red card for handling the ball outside the penalty area.

After the match, Al Saqr Al Abyadh player Abdullah Ali congratulated his team following their progress to the quarter-finals after drawing with Al Nawayef who advanced as runners-up of Group 3. 

“We are happy with our qualification. It reflects the tremendous work we have done since the beginning of the tournament. Now we need to double our efforts if we are to advance to the semifinals,” Abdullah Ali said. 

From his part, Forever goalkeeper Waleed Juma expressed disappointment at his team’s dismissal from the group stage after they were tipped as contenders to win this year’s tournament. 

“We wanted to achieve a point at least in our last match. But we underperformed in this year’s tournament. I want to apologise to our fans for our performances,” Waleed Juma said. 

The group stage concludes today with two matches in Group 4, including Al Zilzal vs Al Zaeem at 9pm, following by Al Fakhar and Al Husan Al Aswad. Al Zilzal and Al Fukhar are the favourites to progress to the last eight round as both teams have four points each. Their opponents have one point each, but surprises are highly likely following the dismissal of several favourites, notably Forever.  

Meanwhile, the second car raffle draw as part of Nasser 10 Football Tournament will taking place today at the conclusion of the group stage during the last two games of this phase at Khalifa Sports City Stadium. Open for everyone, the car which be given away is one of ten cars will be raffled throughout the event and are providing tby Ebrahim Khalil Kanoo Company and Majestic Cars.

HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, President of Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC), had directed for the distribution of ten cars for spectators attending the matches as a token of appreciation to the success.