Riffa, East Riffa set for epic clash in AFC Cup
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Bahraini clubs Riffa and East Riffa are set for an exciting clash this evening in the Zonal Semi-finals of the AFC Cup 2022. The match is scheduled for an 8pm kick-off and it will be played at the Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium at Muharraq Club in Arad.
The Riffa derby marks the first time that two sides from the Kingdom will be facing off in the competition’s history. The winners of the single-game affair will move on to the West Asian Zonal final, where they will face the winners of the other semis contest between Al Arabi of Kuwait and Al Seeb of Oman.
That contest was played late last night in Kuwait City. Both teams have a wealth of talent, spearheaded by their Bahrain international stars. For Riffa, they will rely heavily on the likes of Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Komail Al Aswad, Sayed Mahdi Baqer, Mohammed Al Rumaihi and Sayed Hashem Isa, to name a few; while for East Riffa, set to lead the charge are Sami Al Hussaini, Mohammed Duaij, Jasim Khelaif, Abdulla Shallal and Faisal Budahoom, amongst others. Leading up to the crucial match, officials from both clubs participated in the official technical meeting hosted by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The colours of both teams’ uniforms for this evening’s encounter were presented during the proceedings.
The Riffa players and coaching staff welcomed to their training session the club’s chairman Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalid Al Khalifa and other high-ranking officials. Riffa head coach Ali Ashoor briefed Shaikh Abdulla on his squad’s preparations for tonight’s highly anticipated game. Meanwhile, East Riffa had also stepped up their preparations over the last few days under head coach Florin Motroc from Romania. Motroc only recently returned to his post at the helm of the team, after former manager Ghassan Maatouk suddenly left the club.
The winners of the West Asian Zonal final will then march through to the AFC Cup 2022 final, where they will face the winners of the Inter-Zone Playoff final. There are currently four teams still vying for that spot, including Sogdiana Jizzakh of Uzbekistan, Eastern of Hong Kong, ATK Mohun Bagan of India and Kuala Lumpur City of Malaysia. Riffa qualified for the Zonal Semi-finals after finishing as the best runners-up from the group stage, while East Riffa made it through after topping Group C. This year is the first time that two teams from Bahrain have advanced past the group stage since 2014, when Riffa and Al Hidd competed in the Round of 16.
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