Al Najma remain winless at Asian Club Championship

TDT | Manama

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Al Najma suffered their second straight defeat at the 28th Asian Men’s Club League Championship in Kuwait, going down 29–25 to Qatar’s Al Duhail in Sabah Al Salem yesterday.

The Bahraini side, coached by Abdulrahman Mohamed, again delivered a spirited performance against one of the tournament’s stronger teams.

The opening half was closely contested, with both sides exchanging momentum before finishing level at 15–15 after Al Najma briefly held control early on.

After the break, Al Duhail gradually took charge, finding better rhythm in attack and capitalising on key moments. They outscored Al Najma 14–10 in the second period to secure victory.

Al Najma continued to rely on Mohamed Habib Ahmed, who produced a standout display with 10 goals from 11 attempts and was named player of the match despite the defeat. Uros Mitrovic added three goals, while Jasim Khamis and Hasan Alsamahiji scored two each in a balanced but insufficient effort.

For Al Duhail, Hamdi Hadj Ayed led with five goals, supported by Rafael Capote, Firas Zemzemi and Amine Guehis. They finished with 29 goals from 40 shots at 73% efficiency.

The match was finely poised at 21–21 midway through the second half after a strong spell from Ahmed. However, missed chances and defensive lapses allowed Al Duhail to regain control.

A turning point came with the dismissal of Hasan Madan, who received both red and blue cards, leaving the Bahrainis short-handed at a crucial stage.

Despite that setback, Al Najma stayed within reach deep into the final quarter, with Ahmed continuing to drive the attack, but Al Duhail’s composure and clinical finishing ensured they stayed ahead in the closing stages.

The defeat leaves Al Najma still searching for their first points as the table begins to take shape. Burgan and Al Khaleej lead with five points from three matches, with Kuwait Sporting Club close behind on four.

Al Duhail move into fourth with two points from two games, while Al Arabi also sit on two from three. At the bottom, Al Najma and Sharjah Sports Club are yet to get off the mark.

The Bahraini side, two-time Asian champions in 2017 and 2023, continue in the seven-team round-robin stage, with the top four advancing to the semi-finals on June 15 and the medal matches on June 17.

After today’s rest day, Al Najma will face UAE’s Sharjah SC tomorrow at 8pm as they seek their first points of the campaign. They will then take on Qatar’s Al Arabi, Kuwait’s Burgan Club and Saudi Arabia’s Al Khaleej in their remaining preliminary-round matches, looking to carve out a path to the knockout stages.