Al Ahli power past Kuwait’s Al Qadisiya

AFP | London

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain champions Al Ahli powered to a resounding 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 27-25, 25- 23) victory over Al Qadisiya of Kuwait last night in their opening game of the 38th Gulf Clubs Volleyball Championship, being held in Bahrain.

The tournament’s first two fixtures were played yesterday at Isa bin Rashid Volleyball Arena at Isa Sports City in Riffa, and Ahli made the most of their home support in their come-from-behind decision.

After conceding the opening set to their opponents, Ahli roared back in the second and then took the crucial third set to gain the match advantage. They then rode their momentum into the fourth set to close out the contest in style, although needed to dig deep into their arsenal as Qadisiya put on a tough fight until the end.

In yesterday’s other game, defending champions Police Sports Club of Qatar breezed past Al Kamil and Al Wafi Club of Oman 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-20). Tournament action continues today with Ahli taking on Al Kamil and Al Wafi at 7 pm, to be preceded by Police SC facing Qadisiya at 5 pm.

In last night’s win, Ahli relied heavily on their star Bahraini line-up consisting of Mohammed Anan, Nasser Anan, Ali Al Sairifi, Ali Habib, Mahmood Abdulhussain, Abbas Al Khabbaz and libero Hussain Sultan, along with their talented Brazilian professional Luis Fernando Venceslau.

They were facing a pair of familiar faces across the net, as the Qadisiya line-up features Bahrain national team player Mohammed Yaqoob and Bahraini head coach Reda Ali, who had won the Gulf clubs title in the past in 1993 as a player with Al Nasser. After Ahli tied the game at one set apiece, they faced an early deficit in the third but were able to tie the proceedings at 16-all.

Qadisiya, however, scored the next five points and appeared to be on their way to the 2-1 lead, but Ahli fought back and had four unanswered points to make it 21-23. A Nasser Anan smashes kept the set going at 25-all, and then a double block by Al Sarifi and Habib followed by a powerful Mohammed Anan winner closed it out.

In the fourth, Ahli started strong but Qadisiya turned things around to take an 11-9 lead. The Bahrainis left it late once again and were resilient all through the contest.

They levelled the score at 23-all and then a Mohammed Anan service ace followed by a Qadisiya error sealed their hard-earned triumph. Tomorrow is a rest day, and then the preliminary round will wrap up on Wednesday with Ahli taking on Police SC and Al Kamil and Al Wafi facing Qadisiya. The semi-finals will then be held on Thursday, and then following a break on Friday, the bronze and gold medal games will take place on Saturday