Najma hold on for tough win against Nabih Saleh

TDT | Manama                                                     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Al Najma defeated a battling Nabih Saleh in a tough three sets last night to come away with their first victory of the Top Six round in the 2023/2024 Isa bin Rashid Bahrain Volleyball League.

The game, played at Isa bin Rashid Arena at Isa Sports City in Riffa, was tightly contested throughout, and both teams had their chances to win each of the three sets. But it was Najma who were able to convert their chances when it mattered most, and they posted their hard-earned triumph with a 3-0 (25-23, 29-27, 39-37) score line.

Nabih Saleh put in a valiant effort. They lost a pair of set points in the second frame and in the third would not go away, extending the affair as much as they could. But Najma finally sealed their win after a marathon back-and-forth with a spike by Swedish professional Jacob Link, which was followed by the game-winning double block on a Nabih Saleh attack.

Also playing key roles for Najma in the game were Fadhel Abbas, Hassan Dhahi, Hussain Mahdi and Mahmood Hassan, among others. For Nabih Saleh, they relied heavily on Nigerian import Oyewale Oyedepo, Bahrain senior men’s national team stars Sayed Hashem Isa and Mohammed Jassim, and Hussain Ashoor, to name a few. Najma finally got on the win column after losing their two previous matches to Muharraq and defending champions Dar Kulaib.

Nabih Saleh, on the other hand, conceded their second contest in three tries after bowing to Al Ahli in their last outing which followed an opening win against Al Nasser. Week four of the Top Six is scheduled to take place on Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, Nasser will be going up against Muharraq while Najma will be back in action against Ahli. That will be followed on Saturday by Nabih Saleh looking to bounce back but have a mammoth task against undefeated Dar Kulaib.