Khaldiya Held in Asian Opener

TDT | Manama

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Al Khaldiya opened their AFC Champions League Two campaign with a goalless draw against Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi at Bahrain National Stadium yesterday.

The hosts, led by Croatian coach Goran Tomic, enjoyed the stronger attacking spells but lacked the finishing touch needed to secure all three points from their Group A opener.

Nasaf threatened midway through the first half when Oybek Rustamov tested Mohammad Al Gharably from outside the box.

The Bahrainis responded moments later as Saifeddine Bouhra released Walid Sabbar inside the area, only for a recovering defender to block the midfielder’s attempt.

Al Gharably then denied Bobir Abdikholiqov twice before the interval to keep the contest goalless.

After the restart, Bouhra forced Abduvokhid Nematov into a save before Patrick Maswanganyi played Domagoj Drozdek through for another effort that was kept out.

Tomic’s men continued to push without finding a breakthrough, with substitute Hazaa Ali also going close during stoppage time.

The result leaves Khaldiya and Nasaf on one point, two behind early group leaders Al Wahda.

Elsewhere in Group A, the UAE’s Al Wahda recovered from two goals down to beat Kuwait Club 3-2 in Abu Dhabi. The visitors raced into a 2-0 lead inside eight minutes but had Bahrain international Mohamed Marhoon sent off shortly after the hour, before the Emiratis struck twice late to complete the comeback.

The competition features 32 clubs split into eight groups of four, with each side playing their three opponents home and away. Group action concludes on December 9, when the top two from each section will advance.

Those 16 qualifiers will contest the round of 16 from February 9 to 18. The quarter-finals follow from March 2 to 18 and the semi-finals from April 6 to 14, before the tournament concludes with the final on May 15 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

Reaching the knockout stage would represent an improvement for Khaldiya, who finished third in their group last season. Bahrain’s other representative, Muharraq, suffered the same fate and began their latest campaign with a 1-0 defeat away to Turkmenistan’s Arkadag on Tuesday.

Khaldiya return to continental action on October 14 when they face Kuwait Club at Jaber Al Mubarak Al Hamad Stadium in Kuwait City.