Al Ettifaq Climb Third as Sitra Held

TDT | Manama

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Promoted Al Ettifaq climbed to third in the Nasser bin Hamad Premier League after defeating Al Ahli 2-0 as the third round concluded yesterday.

Former Bahrain international Fawzi Ayesh’s side struck twice after the break to record their second successive victory, while Brazilian-Portuguese coach Jorvan Vieira suffered his first defeat with Al Ahli.

Following a goalless opening half at Bahrain National Stadium, Hassan Mohammed broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute. He drove into the penalty area, remained composed under pressure, beat substitute Sayed Mohammed Amin and fired past goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla.

The goalscorer was then at the centre of a confusing incident in the 66th minute. Mohammed appeared to be shown a red card after blocking Lutfalla and then dissenting, but remained on the pitch after the referee reconsidered the situation.

The Eagles were instead reduced to 10 men six minutes later when Ivorian midfielder Inters Gui was dismissed for catching Mustafa Kiba in the face with his hand.

Mohammed was subsequently withdrawn before Mohammed Abdulqayoom sealed the result in stoppage time, keeping his composure on the break and beating Lutfalla with a low left-footed finish.

The victory moved Al Ettifaq onto six points and made it back-to-back wins following their opening 2-0 defeat by Riffa. They had stunned defending champions Muharraq 1-0 in the previous round.

Ahli remain on four points, having opened with a 1-0 win over Al Hidd before drawing 1-1 with Muharraq.

Honours Even

At Khalifa Sports City Stadium, Al Hidd and Sitra finished with 10 men apiece as they shared the points in a goalless encounter.

Under Tunisian coach Shukri Al Bajawi, Al Hidd made the brighter start. However, midfielder Ibrahim Al Khattal was sent off around the half-hour mark for stamping on the ankle of Sitra captain Ali Haram.

In first-half stoppage time, Bahraini coach Alsayed Hassan Redha saw his side come close to breaking the deadlock. Mauritanian winger Bekaye Wade chipped the ball into the area for Haram to head into the bottom corner, but the effort was ruled out for offside.

Sitra carried that momentum after the restart, but goalkeeper Abdulla Al Thawadi produced a crucial close-range save to deny Wade in the 55th minute following an excellent pass from Saleh Al Zubaidi.

They were also reduced to 10 men in the 70th minute when Vincent Emmanuel received a straight red card for a dangerous aerial challenge that caught Ayman Al Aouny in the back.

The draw preserved Sitra’s unbeaten start and left them fourth with five points. They opened their campaign with a 3-0 victory over Malkiya before their goalless stalemate with East Riffa.

Hidd sit sixth on four points, having begun with a 2-0 win over East Riffa before losing 1-0 to Al Ahli.