Manama edge East Riffa to keep title challenge alive

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Manama kept their title ambitions alive last night in Week 14 of the 2021/2022 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League with a narrow 1-0 victory over East Riffa.

Mohammed Al Hallaq fired in the game’s winner in the 39th minute.

He tapped the ball into an open net after East Riffa goalkeeper Hamad Aldosary came forward to challenge Manama’s Mahdi Abduljabbar on the left of the box.

Abduljabbar was able to send the ball past Aldosary towards goal, and Al Hallaq, making his move forward on the right of the area, only needed to make sure that it crossed the goal line before an East Riffa defender could make a last-ditch clearance.

Neither team could add to the score from there, despite having a number of chances.

With the result, Manama narrowed the gap from league table-toppers and defending champions Riffa to just two points, with one more game played.

They captured their eighth win in 14 matches.

East Riffa, on the other hand, continued their recent slide.

They suffered their third straight defeat and fifth overall, staying on 21 points in fifth on the standings. League action continues tonight with the final two games of Week 14.

AFC Cup champions Muharraq face-off with Al Ahli at 5.15 pm, followed at 7.50 pm by Riffa taking on Al Najma.

This season’s league campaign is headed for a tight finish, with teams heading into the home stretch of matches.

Following the Week 14 fixtures, each club only plays four more games.

Riffa has won the league title in two of the last three seasons.