Heartbreak again!

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain narrowly missed out on claiming a historic victory for the second straight game in the men’s handball tournament at the Tokyo Olympics, following a heart-breaking 25-26 defeat to Portugal yesterday. The Bahrainis led for the majority of the contest but could not stave off a late rally from their fellow Olympic debutants.

The Europeans tied the proceedings at 25-all with just under three minutes to play, and then went ahead after a crucial turnover committed by Bahrain led to Pedro Portela’s game-winning goal with only a minute remaining. Bahrain had a chance to level things after Ali Mirza was fouled by Alexis Borges, but Mohammed Habib’s attempt from the seven-metre line hit the framework and the Portuguese needed only to run the clock out to secure the win.

Habib was unlucky in his attempt to convert a game-tying penalty for the second straight match, much like in Bahrain’s previous loss to Sweden on Saturday. The result was disappointing for the Bahrainis who have yet to score any points on the Group B standings despite putting on a pair of inspiring performances from their two fixtures so far.

The nationals’ next chance to claim a victory will be on Wednesday in what will be their toughest test of the Olympics’ group phase when they face reigning world and Olympic champions Denmark. That game is scheduled for a 3 am throw-off, Bahrain time. Habib finished as Bahrain’s top scorer with eight goals, while skipper Hussain Al Sayyad added six.

Ahmed Fadhul contributed three, while Hassan Al Samaheeji, Mohammed Mirza and Mohamed Mohamed chipped in with two apiece. Ahmed Al Maqabi and Ali Mirza rounded off the scorers. Portela spearheaded Portugal’s attack with six goals while Rui Silva had five and Antonio Areia four. The nationals went ahead for the first time yesterday 7-6 on a Habib goal and were able to stretch their advantage to 10-7 through Al Maqabi from nine metres.

But the Portuguese chipped away at the deficit before the half and were down just 14-15 heading into the locker rooms. The Bahrainis continued to hold on to their advantage for much of the final 30 minutes and had multiple chances to go up by three goals, but each time came up short.

A Habib conversion made it 24-22 entering the final 10 minutes, but back-to-back goals from Silva and Miguel Martins forged another deadlock. Habib and Martins then connected once again to make it 25-all, and that set the stage for Bahrain’s decisive turnover that led to a Fabio Magalhaes steal and eventually Portela’s go-ahead effort on the fastbreak.