Bahrain beat India 2-1 in friendly match

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain edged past a battling India 2-1 last night in an international friendly match played at the Muharraq Club Stadium in Arad.

Mahdi Humaidan made up for a missed penalty early in the game to score the winning goal with just two minutes remaining in regular time.

Mohammed Hardan had earlier put the Bahrainis ahead in the first half but then Rahul Bheke equalised for the visitors after the break, much to the delight of their large group of supporters who packed their allotted side of the venue.

The exhibition contest was part of both teams’ preparations for the third round of qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup 2023. Bahrain are set to play another two tune-ups in the coming week while India have one more.

The home side take on Burundi on Saturday while India face Belarus that same evening. The Bahrainis then face off with their Belarusian counterparts on Tuesday next week. The matches will be split between Muharraq Club and the Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town.

The Bahrainis were awarded their penalty last night in the sixth minute after Sandesh Jhingan handled the ball in the area. He was given a yellow card for his infraction.

The spot kick was taken by Humaidan, but his effort which was targeted towards the bottom-right corner of goal was poorly hit, and India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was able to make a fine save.

Later in the first half, Hardan was able to open the scoring with a brilliant volley in the 37th minute. Hardan struck from the right side of the box off an assist from Mohammed Jassim Marhoon. The cross came from the left of the penalty area and Hardan made no mistake with his single touch as he sent the ball into the bottom-left corner of goal.

That was enough to send the Bahrainis into the interval in front. But India didn’t need much time after the restart to level the proceedings. Bheke’s goal came in the 59th minute following a fine cross from the right wing by substitute Roshan Singh.

Bheke took advantage of the poor Bahrain defending and headed home unmarked right in front of goal. Both teams pressed for the winner from there and the nationals were awarded in the 88th minute.

Marhoon was once again the supplier of the assist, this time from the right wing, and Humaidan needed to just tap the ball in from close range after finding some space in between the India defence.

Bahrain are in Group E for the third round of AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualification alongside Turkmenistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia. Their qualifying matches are scheduled to be played in June in the chosen centralised venue of Kuala Lumpur.

The AFC Asian Cup is scheduled to kick off on June 16 next year in China. Bahrain are looking to secure their seventh appearance in the tournament proper. They first appeared in 1988, and have qualified for the last five tournaments in 2004, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019.

The Bahrainis’ best finish in the competition was fourth in 2004. They reached the last 16 in 2019, but did not make it past the group stage the other times.