Bahrain rally past Bhutan

Bahrain inched closer to securing a berth in next year’s AFC U-19 Championship following a resounding 4-0 victory against Bhutan last night at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town. Their win was their second in a row in Group E, and it put them two points ahead of their closest challengers Jordan, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Bangladesh in yesterday’s other contest.

Bahrain must now beat or draw with their Jordanian counterparts tomorrow in their final qualifying match to ensure their berth in the tournament proper. Only the top-ranked team from the 11 qualification groups gain automatic spots in the championship, along with the four best second-placers.

In Bahrain’s win last night, four different players scored for the home team. They included Adel Al Rumaihi, Abdulrahman Al Sayyad, Abdulla Al Nimr and Sayed Jawad Haider. The result was the second successive clean sheet for the Bahrainis. It followed their 3-0 triumph against Bangladesh on opening night.

Meanwhile, the Bangladeshis did well to fight back against their Jordanian opponents in their 1-1 stalemate. Jordan went ahead with a Danial Ahmed Alfaneh penalty in first-half stoppage time, but in the second half a rejuvenated Bangladesh were able to level the proceedings in the 74th minute with a Yeasin Arafat goal. Neither team could find a win ner from there.