TDT | Manama
Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Ali Hassan Saeed scored a late winning goal to lead Rifa to an impressive 1-0 victory over defending champions Al Khaldiya in the 2023/2024 Nasser Bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League last night. led to a great victory.
The match, held at the National Stadium in Rifa, was a huge clash between the two previous league title winners. After an almost goalless game, Said broke through three minutes into full time to give his team three points.
Rifa have played two fewer games than most of the rest of the league due to their participation in this season’s AFC Cup. They are currently in the group stage of the tournament, but have already qualified for the final round.
Last night’s win moved them into the top four of the league table, level on points with Caldiya and East Rifa, with two games in hand. They are only one point behind current leader Al Ahly.
Caldiya suffered their first loss of the new season. On either side of half-time yesterday, Riffa’s Komer Al Aswad came close to breaking the deadlock. In the 32nd minute, Caldeja’s shot was also cleared on the line. After the break, both teams continued to search for the winning goal, and Saeed finally scored with his left foot from Rifa from the edge of the penalty area. His attempt came after a pass to teammate Hashem Saeed Issa was blocked by the Qaldija defense.
With one touch, he made no mistakes and got past Khaldiya goalkeeper Mohamed Abdulrahim Al Gharabri. Meanwhile, in yesterday’s other match, Sitra achieved a hard-earned 2-1 victory against Al-Shabaab. Citra took the lead in the 16th minute when Amir Rustaei scored from inside the box after an assist from teammate Abdulwaseer Al Matari.
Five minutes into the match, Al Matari missed a chance to take the lead when his shot from the penalty spot was brilliantly saved by Shabaab goalkeeper Hamad Al Dosari. However, in the 43rd minute, Khalifa Issa Al Rafi scored again after a quick counter-attack from Al Matari, giving Sitra a 2-0 lead.
Shabaab scored a goal in the 83rd minute when team captain Hussein Al-Qassab took a free kick into the box, and James Olufade Adewale, who received a header again, smashed the ball into the front of the goal. Shabab tried to equalize until the final whistle but could not find any chances.
Citra increased their points to nine points, their second win in seven league games. On the other hand, Shabaab suffered their fourth loss and were limited to 7 markers. Last night’s match concluded week 8 of the 2023/2024 Nasser Bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League.