Riffa, Ahli through to King’s Cup quarters

TDT | Manama    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Riffa and Al Ahli last night barged into the quarter-finals of this year’s His Majesty the King’s Cup in football. Reigning league champions Riffa booked their tickets following a resounding 3-0 victory over Al Ettifaq, while Ahli advanced with an even bigger 4-0 winning margin against Al Shabab.

Both sides are now through to the next phase and await their opponents. Riffa will play either Muharraq or Busaiteen in the last eight, while Ahli will take on either Al Najma or Budaiya.

In Riffa’s win, Sayed Hashem Isa and Mohammed Al Rumaihi were both on target, with Al Rumaihi firing in a brace. Isa opened their account with a header in the 30th minute.

He sent the ball home with an effort right in front of goal off a cross from the right wing supplied by Mohammed Jassim Marhoon. Al Rumaihi then scored their second in the 82nd minute after he outmuscled his defender to create a one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper.

He then made no mistake with his low effort in the box. The Bahrain international striker then scored his second goal from nearly the exact same spot in the third minute of stoppage time, sealing Riffa’s win.

For Ahli, Abdulla Duaij converted twice, while Nawaf Abdulla and Artem Serdyuk scored the other two goals. Duaij fired in their opener in the 10th minute from close range, and then Abdulla then headed in their second in the 35th minute to give them a comfortable advantage heading into the break.

Duaij was then on target for his scored right in the face of goal in the 82nd minute, before Serdyuk applied the final nail in the coffin with a turning shot from the edge of the box in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.

The round of 16 continues tonight with Najma taking on Budaiya and Muharraq facing Busaiteen. Both games are scheduled for 6pm kick-offs at separate venues. Tomorrow, Manama and Bahrain Club lock horns while Sitra take on holders Al Khaldiya. Then on Thursday, the round of 16 wraps up with Al Hala facing Tadhamon and Hidd playing against East Riffa.