A second-half strike by Ali Jafaar Madan helped Bahrain get the much-needed one point to finish above Qatar in the first phase of the Gulf Cup.
For Qatar, their goal was scored off a penalty kick by captain Hassan al-Haydos in injury time of the first half at Jaber Al Ahmed Stadium. Bahrain finished the Group B standings with five points while Iraq (7 points) sealed the top position with a 3-0 win over Yemen yesterday.
Qatar, winners in 2014, finished in third place with 4 points from three matches. Yemen ended the tournament without a win in three matches. Qatar opened the tournament with a 4-0 win over Yemen but lost to Iraq 2-1 last Tuesday.
A couple of tackles from both the teams in the first three minutes got the fans involved at the Jaber Al Ahmad Stadium.
Early in the match, Bahrain’s Jamal Rashed, after receiving a cross from eventual match hero Jaafar, broke free of his marker inside the Qatar box but his low shot was smartly gobbled up by Qatar goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb.
Qatar sustained pressure with moves into the Bahrain box but their backline stood firm to keep their slate clean. In the 15th minute, Qatar captain al-Haydos nearly pulled off a stunner with a shot that missed the target by inches off an indirect free-kick.
In the 27th minute, al-Haydos - the team’s fittest athlete by far - covered plenty of ground with a solo effort that ended near the Bahrain box but surprisingly his fellow strikers were not in position to take the flying cross.
Ten minutes later, Uzbek referee Asimov Aziz clearly missed a handball infringement by Bahrain’s Ahmed Abdulla - standing inside his own box - following a crisp cross by Qatar’s Miguel on the flank. The referee waved play on despite protests by the Qatar players.
Immediately afterwards, Bahrain goalkeeper Sayed Ebrahim emerged as a hero by stopping a low shot by al-Haydos who fired from close to the edge of the Bahrain box. Seconds later, forward Almoez Ali - one of Qatar’s brightest prospects from the junior ranks - weaved his way into the Bahrain box but his deft low cross was missed by team mates Abdulakreem and Akram Afif.
Barely two minutes from the first-half whistle, Qatar’s Pedro clipped a near-perfect cross for Ismail Mohamed whose snap-header from close range narrowly missed the Bahrain crossbar.
Qatar’s brave show in the first half bore fruit when Bahrain goalkeeper brought down Afif inside the box with the wiry Al Anabi striker ready to shoot. Uzbek referee pointed to the spot before showing a yellow to keeper Ebrahim. Al-Haydos stepped up and went for the top of the net for Qatar’s goal that silenced a big Bahrain crowd. It was al-Haydos’ second goal of the tournament.
With their tails up, Qatar launched attacks from the first minute of the second half. Three minutes after the resumption of play, al-Haydos attempted a long-range shot to add more pressure on the Bahrain backline. With Bahrain trailing in the do-or-die game, friction started to increase with constant shoving and pushing by the players on the pitch.
In the 58th minute, Bahrain found the equaliser when Jaafar converted from close range after a cross from the flank. In the 80th minute, Afifi dribbled past a couple of Bahrain defenders but failed to find the target from close range by smashing the ball wide.
In the semi-finals, Bahrain will play Oman on Jan 2. In the other semi-final, Iraq will battle UAE.
