Bahrain held by Lebanon in opener

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain missed out on the full three points in their opening game of the the fourth West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Men’s Futsal Championship, which is currently taking place in Kuwait.

After taking the lead midway through the second half, the Bahrainis conceded a goal in the final 40 seconds of the match to finish their Group B fixture against Lebanon in a 1-1 stalemate. The Bahrainis went ahead through Falah Abbas, who fired home with a penalty kick with eight minutes remaining in the closing 20-minute period.

The nationals were awarded their spot kick after the ball was handled in the area by Lebanon’s Ahmad Kheir El Dine. Bahrain’s original attempt taken by Mohamed Abdulla was saved but the referee ordered the kick to be re-taken after the goalkeeper came off his line.

Abbas then made no mistake with his effort, which he sent to the bottom-right corner of goal. The Bahrainis fought hard to maintain their advantage and for long stretches in the second half defended against five attacking players, as the Lebanese goalkeeper joined open play.

The nationals tried to take advantage of the empty net and had a handful of chances to double their lead. But they couldn’t hold on until the end as Lebanon’s press for an equaliser was rewarded in the very last minute, with Hassan Zeitoun scoring from just outside the six-metre line.

His shot flew past Bahrain’s Sayed Fadhel Mahfoodh and into the top-right corner of the net, ensuring that the Bahrainis come away with a share of the points. Return Also in Group B of the competition are Oman and the UAE.

Group A features Iraq, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and hosts Kuwait. Bahrain return to the playing court tomorrow when they take on Oman. They then face off with the UAE in their final group assignment on Thursday, which will also be the last day of the preliminary stage stage.

Following a single round-robin, the top two nations from each of the two groups move on to the semi-finals. Coached by Brazilian Lino Gomes, the men’s team at the WAFF tournament features 14 players, including Abbas, Abdulla, Ahmed Abdulnabi, Hamed Abdulla, Ammar Ali, Jassam Anan, Saleh Sanjar, Hasan Marzooq, Mohamed Alsandi, Ahmed Antar, Salman Muhammad, Ali Aloraibi and Mohamed Sayed Abbas.

Bahrain’s participation in the WAFF championship is helping them gear up for their campaign later this summer in the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2022, which will take place this September, also in Kuwait. The Bahrainis are in Group B for that event alongside Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

There are four groups in all for the competition’s preliminary round. Group A features Kuwait, Iraq, Thailand and Oman; Group C comprises Iran, Lebanon, Chinese Taipei and Indonesia; and Group D includes Japan, Vietnam, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.