Bahrain Surrender Gulf Cup Crown

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s Gulf Cup title defense ended last night as a 3-0 defeat to the UAE confirmed their elimination from Khaleeji 27 with one Group B match still to play.

The Reds struggled to trouble a dominant UAE side at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, where Ousmane Camara opened the scoring before substitutes Guilherme Bala and Ali Saleh completed a convincing victory.

The Emiratis controlled the first half and created the better chances, with Ebrahim Lutfalla called upon several times to keep the kingdom within touching distance.

Their pressure finally told in the 29th minute when Yuri Cesar crossed from the right and Camara, under pressure from Amine Bennadi, headed the ball into the turf and into the corner.

Bahrain offered little going forward before the break, while goalkeeper Lutfalla ensured they went in only 1-0 behind.

The contest also brought together Croatian coaches Dragan Talajic and Zlatko Dalic, and it was the latter’s side who continued to dictate proceedings after the restart.

They came within inches of doubling their advantage in the 52nd minute when Nicolas Gimenez headed a cross from the right against the bar, but Bahrain’s reprieve did not last long.

Thirteen minutes later, Marcus Meloni’s long ball released Bala, who controlled well before picking out the far bottom corner to make it 2-0.

Saleh put the result beyond doubt in the 87th minute after Waleed Al Hayyam lost possession. Bruno Conceicao sent the substitute clear and he calmly chipped the advancing goalkeeper to complete the scoring.

Afterwards, Talajic apologised to Bahrain supporters for the early exit and acknowledged the disappointment of losing the Gulf Cup crown.

“We hoped to continue the journey and achieve results that would make them happy, but we have to accept the result and work for the future,” he said.

Talajic added that the squad must learn from its mistakes, review what went wrong during the tournament and use the experience to return stronger in future competitions.

Earlier, Qatar beat Yemen 1-0 through Yusuf Abdurisag’s 54th-minute goal, securing their place alongside the UAE in Saturday’s semi-finals and eliminating Yemen.

Attention now turns to Group A tomorrow, with hosts Saudi Arabia already through and the final last-four berth still up for grabs. They face Iraq at 8.30pm, while Oman take on eliminated Kuwait simultaneously.

Bahrain and Yemen then close their campaigns on Wednesday at 8.30pm, with both sides seeking their first points, while Qatar face the UAE at the same time to determine the final Group B standings.

Saturday’s semi-finals will set up the Khaleeji 27 final next Tuesday.