Muharraq in HM King’s Cup final

TDT | Manama                                                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Muharraq punched their tickets to the final of the 2023/2024 His Majesty the King’s Cup last night after defeating Al Khaldiya 1-0 in a thrilling clash at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town.

Firas Chawat scored the winning goal for the victors a minute after the hourmark.

That was enough to separate the two sides, although Zahir Al Aghbari should have doubled their final winning margin.

He could not convert his penalty in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time, and then moments later the final whistle was blown.

Muharraq move on to square off with Al Ahli in the tournament final, which has yet to be scheduled by the Bahrain Football Association.

Ahli booked their place in the title-decider after beating Manama 3-1 in the other contest of the last four.

The HM the King’s Cup is the richest football competition in the Kingdom, with the winners set to take home BD100,000 in prize money and BD50,000 going to the runners-up.

Ahli are in the championship game for the second straight year.

They also played in the final last season, where they lost to Al Hala in a heart-stopping penalty shootout.

Last night’s game remained goalless at half-time although both teams had chances to score.

Khaldiya’s Dhurgham Al Quraishi had the best opportunity, but he hit his left-footed free-kick from outside the box an inch over the crossbar.

After the restart, Muharraq took the lead in the 61st minute through Chawat.

Abdulwahab Al Malood fired in a freekick from the right wing, and his shot was stopped by Khaldiya goalkeeper Mohammed Al Gharabli.

The rebound went directly in the path of Chawat, who needed only to tap the ball in from close range.

Khaldiya tried valiantly to battle back and find a leveller, but their hopes were dashed in injury time.

In the 96th minute, Muharraq were awarded a penalty when Chawat was brought down by Khaldiya’s Ahmed Bughammar on a quick counterattack.

Al Aghbari stepped up to take the spot kick, which was stopped by a diving Al Gharabli, but it made no difference to the final outcome as Muharraq still went through.

Khaldiya punched their tickets to the round of eight after taking out holders Al Hala 3-1, while Muharraq booked their tickets with a 1-0 win over Galali.