Qatar's Ali Assadalla in action with Bahrain's Mohamed Marhoon during their Arabian Gulf Cup25 Group B match at the Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium, Basra, Iraq on January 10, 2023. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
Striker Abdulla Yusuf scored a late winner as defending champions Bahrain rallied to claim their second consecutive victory at the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup edging Qatar 2-1 at Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium in Basra on Tuesday.
Persija Jakarta forward slotted home an 89th minute penalty after Mohammed Waad’s own goal in 72nd minute helped Bahrain equalised Qatar's lead. Ahmed Alaaeldin scored a superb goal – his second in the tournament – in 34th minute to take the Asian champions ahead in the first half.
After assisting Alaaeldin with a fine corner kick, Waad’s night turned into agony as after his deflection from substitute Komail Hassan's strike gifted Bahrain their first goal, a handball foul by the midfielder paved the way for the Reds to score the winner.
The victory put Bahrain on top of Group B with six points, also extending their unbeaten run against Qatar at the Gulf Cup as they have not lost against Al Annabi in the tournament since 2002.
Bruno Pinheiro’s Qatar, who slipped to second place in the group after the loss, will meet the United Arab Emirates in their last group match on Friday needing a victory in bid to reach the semi-finals.
Despite the defeat, Qatar captain Ismaeel Mohammad remained optimistic of a comeback in the tournament by the three-time champions.
“We will rectify our mistakes and comeback strongly in our next match,” Ismaeel said after the match.
“Losing is part of the game and I am confident that the team will play well to reach far in the tournament. One defeat doesn’t mean we are out; in fact it will help us improve.
“We played well to win first match and this defeat will not affect our confidence. I am hopeful that the team will bounce back from this loss,” he added.
As both teams looked to take control in the start, Bahrain’s Mohamed Marhoon made an ambitious attempt from 10 yards outside the box but he hit straight at well-positioned Qatar goalkeeper Meshal Barsham in game’s first shot on target.
The Reds were finding spaces in the final third to put pressure on Al Annabi defence and Abdulla Yusuf got a good opportunity to score after Jassem Gaber failed to clear a long ball but the Bahrain forward’s strike hit the left post in 14th minute.
Qatar made their first attempt in 27th minute with Alaaeldin setting up Amro Siraj whose strike from inside the box was deflected away by a diving Bahrain defender.
The Asian champions started dominating the game having fine spells with the ball and Alaaeldin broke the deadlock with a rising header putting the ball past Kuwait goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla after a corner kick by Waad from the right.
Yusuf handed Marhoon an immediate opportunity for the equaliser but the midfielder failed to pick a low cross inside the box with only Barsham to beat. Waad’s free kick from outside the box just flew over the bar keeping the score intact before the break.
Qatar were dominating the possession but both the sides were struggling to find spaces after a slow start to the second half.
Tamim Mansoor almost scored his first goal for the national team but Lutfalla stopped his fine diagonal hit from inside the box by diving to his left in the 57th minute.
Soon after Mohamed Adel missed a chance firing the ball high after receiving a cross, Hassan's attempt took Waad’s deflection deceiving Barsham, who dove in the other direction.
Bahrain won a penalty after VAR confirmed substitute Mahdi Al Humaidan’s strike on target hit Waad’s hand following a corner kick. Yusuf put Bahrain ahead with a low hit on the right corner deceiving Barsham to seal victory as Qatar failed to equalise in eight minutes of injury time.
Earlier, Ahmed Al Dhefiri scored in stoppage time (90+3 minutes) as the 10-time champions Kuwait edged the UAE 1-0 for their first victory in the tournament.
UAE, who enjoyed a better ball possession, displayed an impressive show making four shots on target from their 14 attempts with Kuwait having two shots on goal. Kuwait will face Bahrain in their last group match on Friday.
Action will resume in Basra on Thursday with last phase of matches in Group A led by hosts Iraq after a day’s break.
