Bahrainis keep hopes alive

TDT | Manama     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s under-23 Olympic football team edged one step closer yesterday to securing a direct place in the knockout stage of the men’s football tournament at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

This, despite posting their second successive draw in Group E of the competition’s preliminary round in a 1-1 stalemate with fellow-Gulf side Kuwait at Jinhua Sports Centre Stadium. The nationals had previously also drawn with Thailand in their first game on Tuesday with a similar score line.

The results put them currently in second place on the group table with two points, and with their toughest test of this stage coming up on Sunday against current top-placers South Korea. The Koreans have won both their matches so far and have a maximum six points.

They defeated Thailand 4-0 yesterday, which followed their 9-0 drubbing of Kuwait in their opening fixture. The Kuwaitis and Thais are currently tied with a point apiece in the bottom half of the standings.

Only the top two teams from all six groups in the preliminaries move straight into the knockout phase, along with the four best third-placed sides. Kuwait and Thailand face off in the other Group E fixture on Sunday, with the results of both games determining the nations who will advance along with the Koreans to the round of 16.

Both of Sunday’s matches are scheduled for simultaneous kick-offs at 2.30pm, Bahrain time. Bahrain and Korea will lock horns at Jinhua Sports Centre Stadium, while Kuwait and Thailand play at Zhejiang Normal University East Stadium.

In Bahrain’s draw yesterday, both of the game’s goals were scored in the second half. Defender Ali Mohamed Redha was on target for the Bahrainis just seven minutes after the restart, but then forward Salman Mohammed equalised for Kuwait with about a quarter-hour remaining in regular time.

Redha opened Bahrain’s account in the 52nd minute with a brilliant low volley, hit from an acute angle that slotted past Kuwaiti goalkeeper Abdulrahman Alfadhli. The goal gave the nationals the lead for the second straight contest, but again they conceded an equaliser that cost them the full three points.

Mohammed’s leveller came in the 74th minute with a curling free-kick from a few metres outside the penalty area. His shot flew past the Bahrain wall and into the bottom-right corner of goal. The Bahrainis have a 22-player squad in Hangzhou, coached by Dario Basic from Croatia.

They include Redha, Khalil Ebrahim Ahmed, Hasan Isa Juma, Ahmed Abdulhameed Hasan, Hussain Ali Aleker, Hassan Abdulnabi Ali, Sayed Jawad Alawi, Hani Taha Alharobi, Mahmood Mohamed Ali, Hussain Abdulkarim, Hussain Jaafar Haroona, Abdulla Nemer Almesaeed, Ahmed Dheyaa Ali, Abdulla Ali Alahmed, Abdulla Ali Alsubaiei, Mubarak Mohammed, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Salman Abdulla Qadhaib, Mohammed Abdulqayoom, Salman Adel Al Isa, Sayed Mohammed Adnan and Ali Adnan Dhaif.

There are 23 nations competing in men’s football, divided into six groups. Group A features hosts China, Bangladesh, Myanmar and India; Group B comprises Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Mongolia; Group C includes Uzbekistan, Syria, Hong Kong and Afghanistan; Group D consists of Japan, Palestine and Qatar; and Group F features North Korea, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan and Chinese-Taipei.