Riffa lift Super Cup, complete domestic treble

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Riffa was last night crowned champions of the Bapco Super Cup following a 4-3 penalty shootout victory over East Riffa in a hugely thrilling derby.

Saeed Mohammad Almurjan scored for East Riffa in the first half and then goalkeeper Hamad Aldosary made a heroic late save on a second-half penalty by Riffa superstar Komail Alaswad, and East Riffa appeared to be headed for the win.

But just before the final whistle in the sixth minute of stoppage time, Mohammed Jassim Marhoon was able to fire in a superb free-kick from more than 30 yards out to level the proceedings and send the match to penalty kicks. In the shootout, Alaswad was able to make up for his unsuccessful attempt earlier in regular time.

He scored the winner after East Riffa’s Ahmed Al Yaqoob had just missed a chance to break a 3-3 deadlock. Riffa’s victory earned them a unique treble, having also won last season’s Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier League title as well as His Majesty the King’s Cup. They earned their place in the Super Cup as league champions.

East Riffa, meanwhile, were invited as their opponents being the second-ranked club from last season’s league. Following the Super Cup, the winners and runners-up have presented their respective awards in a ceremony attended by Bahrain Football Association president Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.

The match was originally scheduled for August as the traditional curtain-raising contest of the new national football campaign, but the BFA decided to reschedule it to yesterday.

On target earlier for East Riffa in the penalty shootout were Faisal Bu Dahoom, Jassim Khelaif Alsalama and Ali Nasser Ali, while Ahmed Rashed Hasan hit the crossbar and Hamza Abdulla Adrees shot wide.

For Riffa, Marhoon missed their first attempt from the spot but Mahmood Hasan Albaher, Ali Hassan Saeed, and Hazza Ali all converted their attempts. Hashem Sayed Isa’s shot was saved by Aldosary.

The game was a one-off affair, organised by the BFA and played at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town. In yesterday’s first half, Guyana professional Marsh Brown supplied a short cross to Almurjan from the right of the penalty box to put East Riffa ahead 1-0. Almurjan managed to get to the ball first and tap it home, as his shot scraped the inside of the right post.

Riffa had multiple chances to score in the first half, but they could not find the finishing touches and East Riffa took full advantage. Aldosary then made his huge penalty save in the 82nd minute, but it wasn’t enough, in the end, to help his team secure the win.