Riffa claim crucial victory over Sitra

TDT | Manama                                        

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Defending champions Riffa kept their slim hopes of retaining their title alive with a hard-earned 1-0 victory over Sitra last night in a crucial week 18 match in the 2022/2023 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League.

Also yesterday, fellow-contenders Al Khaldiya dropped some crucial points after being held to a 1-1 draw by East Riffa.

Riffa, Sitra and Khaldiya are all contending for the crown this season, and they all continue to trail solo leaders Manama, who are atop the league standings with 34 points.

Firing in a late winner for Riffa last night was Sayed Mahdi Baqer, who scored in the 87th minute with a header.

Following a rocket attempt by teammate Amin Fareed that was punched away by Sitra goalkeeper Godwill Chia Ndang, the rebound went right to Baqer who was in the right place at the right time.

He reacted quickly and was able to head the ball into an empty net.

With the result Riffa claimed their eighth win as they improved to 30 points. Sitra suffered only their third loss and stayed ahead of Riffa on 31 points on the table.

Prize boost for HM the King’s Cup finalists

Following the directives of the First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports (SCYS), General Sports Authority (GSA) Chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) President, His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Bahrain Football Association (BFA) has approved the cash prizes allocated for the champions and runners-up of the 2022/2023 His Majesty the King’s Cup.

In this regard, BFA President Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa affirmed that, based on HH Shaikh Khalid’s directives, the BFA Board of Directors has decided to allocate BD100,000 to HM the King’s Cup champions, and BD50,000 to the runners-up, which is a precedent in the history of the competition.

Shaikh Ali wished the two finalists, Al Ahli and Al Hala, every success in the final, which will be held at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium on Friday at 8.45pm.