Muharraq kick off AFC Cup campaign against Jordan’s Al Salt

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s Muharraq Club kick off their campaign in this year’s AFC Cup today against Al Salt of Jordan in Amman. The match is scheduled for a 4 pm kick-off at King Abdullah II Stadium.

It will be both teams’ first fixtures in Group B, which also includes Al Ansar of Lebanon and Balata Center of Palestine. Muharraq were champions of the AFC Cup in 2008 and will be looking to repeat that success this time around.

They are making a return to the competition after a four-year absence. Over six previous campaigns, Muharraq has faced Jordanian sides on nine occasions, all coming against either Al Wehdat or Al Faisaly.

The Bahraini side’s record has not been impressive, winning just twice and losing four times while three encounters ended in a draw. Coached by Issa Al Sadoun, Muharraq will be relying heavily on their star players such as Bahrain international goalkeeper Sayed Mohammed Jaffar, and other top local talents such as Waleed Al Hayyam, Abdulwahab Ali, Abdulwahab Al Malood, and Ismaeel Abdullatif.

The team is boosted by professional players Jhonnattann Benites da Conceicao and Thiago Real from Brazil and the Syrian pair of Mohammed Faris and Abdulrahman Barakat.

Following today’s encounter, Muharraq returns to the pitch in their second game on Monday against Balata Center, before playing Al Ansar on Thursday.

Meanwhile, matches in AFC Cup Group A, which are to be held in Bahrain, also kick off today. One game is on the cards, with Al Wahda of Syria taking on defending champions Al Ahed of Lebanon.

Bahraini outfit Hidd are also in the group, but they will kick off their campaign only on Monday when they take on Wahda. They then face off with Ahed on Thursday in their concluding clash of this stage.