Muharraq, Sitra stay in contention in tight title battle

TDT | Manama                                             

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com    

Muharraq and Sitra stayed in the ultra-tight title race in the 2022/2023 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League last night with big wins in their respective games, which wrapped up the 16th week of action.

Muharraq registered a resounding 5-1 victory over bottom-of-the-table Budaiya, while Sitra outclassed East Riffa 2-0. Their wins helped both sides improve to 30 points on the league table, just one behind solo leaders Manama and tied with Al Khaldiya, while only four points ahead of defending champions Riffa.

In Muharraq’s win, four of their goals were scored in the first half. Muhammad Sulumba opened the scoring for the winners in fifth minute with a header from close range, and then Victor Manuel Arboleda Murillo doubled their advantage just seven minutes later with a shot from an acute angle in the box.

Abdulwahab Ali then made it 3-0 in the 22nd minute with a header off a long cross from the right, then Budaiya got their lone consolation in the 29th minute from Seydou Barry. But Muharraq restored their three-goal advantage on the stroke of half-time with a rocket from distance by Hassan Uqabi Haddush.

Then, in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, Abdulwahab Al Malood applied the final nail in the coffin with Muharraq’s fifth from inside the six-yard box. Muharraq claimed their eighth win while Budaiya sufferd their league-worst 13th loss.

Meanwhile, in Sitra’s triumph, skipper Barfo Ernest hit a brilliant goal from around a quarter-of-the-pitch’s distance in 12th minute. His rocket flew into the net, with East Riffa goalkeeper Eyad Nasser Salem powerless to make the stop.

Moatasem Iskandar then supplied their second goal from edge of the box, with an attempt that should have been controlled by the goalkeeper, but he instead fumbled the ball. Sitra also claimed their eighth win while handing East Riffa their sixth loss.