Muharraq battle past Manama

TDT | Manama                                                    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Muharraq posted a well-deserved 3-1 victory over Manama last night to kick off the eighth week of action in the 2023/2024 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League.

Firas Chawat, Abdulwahab Al Malood and Hassan Mohammed Abdo were all on target for the victors, while scoring the lone consolation for Manama was Elvis Marley Aparecido Bittencourt.

Muharraq opened their account in the 29th minute when Chawat scored in the face of goal after Manama failed to clear a corner kick. Following a mad scramble in the box, an unmarked Chawat was able to tap the ball home despite falling to the ground.

Muharraq then doubled their advantage the very next minute, when Al Malood found the net in traffic with a low effort. That was enough to give his team the 2-0 advantage at the interval. After the re-start, Manama tried valiantly to get back into the game and got a goal in 71st minute through Bittencourt, who received a fine through pass in the box and slotted home past Muharraq goalkeeper Sayed Mohammed Jaafar.

But Manama’s hopes of equalising were shortlived as Muharraq regained their two-goal advantage when substitute Abdo scored with a header off a corner kick in the 77th minute. With the result, Muharraq claimed their third win in eight matches and improved to 12 points on the league table.

Manama suffered their fourth loss and stayed on eight markers in the bottom half. Also last night, Busaiteen claimed their first victory of the season when they upset Al Najma 1-0 in another match. Mamadou Lamine Diawara scored the game’s lone goal, firing home in the 67th minute with a fine volley. His strike was enough to separate the two sides and earn Busaiteen the full three points.

They improved to sixth but stayed at the very bottom of the standings. Najma suffered their second loss and stayed on 12 points, remaining amongst the top four. League action continues tonight and tomorrow with two more matches per evening. Tonight, Al Ahli take on Hidd while East Riffa face Al Hala; and then tomorrow, Sitra play Al Shabab while defending champions Al Khaldiya take on Riffa in a mammoth clash between top contenders.