Bahraini team nears semi-finals at Qatari team expense

The Bahraini team approached the semi-finals of the 25th Gulf Cup after defeating Qatar 2-1 in the match that took place between them for the lead. The Bahraini team raised its score to six points, while the Qatari team remained at three points, and the decision will be made in the last round between the two teams, Qatar and Kuwait.

At the beginning of the first half, the Bahraini team tried to surprise the Qatari team by attacking towards the goal of goalkeeper Barshim, but their attempts were thwarted by the defense and the goalkeeper, and the Qatari team absorbed the Bahraini impulse and then started to respond with balls that were organized and moved from the defense in a good offensive build to the midfield that extended the attack. Dangerous balls confused the Bahraini defenses, and the Qatari possession and danger increased until Ahmed Alaa succeeded in exploiting a ball from a corner and scored it with a wonderful header in the 34th minute after goalkeeper Ibrahim Khalil was unable to clear it, to end the first half with Qatar advancing with Alaa’s goal.

In the second half, the Qatari team succeeded in taking possession and moving various balls around the stadium, which created a threat to the Bahraini goal. The Qatari team could have turned its control into another lead in the match, but it did not take advantage of the opportunities it had. After that, the defending champion tried to return and play across the sides and pass the balls towards the penalty area, and some of them were dangerous until the 72nd minute, when it was an attack from the left side of the Bahraini national team, and the ball reached the substitute Kamil Hassan, who hit a ball that hit the player Mohammed Waad and deceived the goalkeeper Barshim and entered the net.

The subsequent minutes were difficult, and each of them wanted to score, snatch the victory, reach the sixth point, ensure qualification, or approach the semi-finals.

In the 86th minute, the referee awarded a penalty kick against the Qatari team by returning to the mouse after the ball touched the hand of the player Mohammed Waad, and it was successfully executed by the player Abdullah Youssef to the left of the goalkeeper, and the result became 2/1.

The Qataris did not benefit from the 8-minute stoppage time that the referee gave them, and the Bahraini team maintained its lead until the last whistle of the match.