Manama edge past Khaldiya

TDT | Manama                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Manama posted an all-important 1-0 victory over fellow-title hopefuls Al Khaldiya last night to kick off week 14 in the 2022/2023 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League.

Mahdi Abduljabbar scored the winning goal for Manama in the 49th minute of the match.

The two teams headed into the contest as joint-leaders atop the league table with 24 points apiece—just a single point ahead of three others including Muharraq, Sitra and defending champions Riffa.

But with the result, Manama moved to solo first place.

The first half ended without either side finding the net, but that changed quickly after the interval.

Only four minutes into the re-start, a defensive gaffe by the Khaldiya backline left a clear opportunity for Abduljabbar in a one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper.

Facing pressure from Khaldiya defender Abdulla Al Hazza, Abduljabbar fired in a low, right-footed effort that went past Khaldiya’s Sayed Shubbar Alawi and into the bottom-left corner of goal.

Manama could have doubled their advantage just 10 minutes later, but a curling shot from Ahmed Ammar hit the crossbar and bounced on the goal line.

Manam aclaimed their league-leading eighth win in 14 matches as they improved to 27 points in first place.

Khaldiya stayed on 24 following their fourth loss. Meanwhile, in yesterday’s other fixture, Hidd and East Riffa played to a goalless draw.

The two teams thus came away with a share of the points, with Hidd improved to 19 following their fourth stalemate, while East Riffa went to 15 points with their sixth draw.

League action continues this evening with three matches on schedule.

Kicking off simultaneously at 4.50pm at separate venues, Al Ahli take on Sitra while Al Hala face off with Al Shabab.

Then, at 7.50pm, Bahrain Club take on bottom-of-the-table club Budaiya.