Bahrain lift first Gulf Cup

Doha, Dec 8 - Mohammed Saad al Rumaihi’s smart shot sealed history for Bahrain as they edged Saudi Arabia 1-0 to emerge champions for the first time in the history of Arabian Gulf Cup at Abdullah bin Khalfia Stadium in Doha late on Sunday. Al Rumaihi netted in the 69th minute and Saudi players were unable to breakthrough the tight Bahrain defence after missing a penalty early in the match. With the triumph, Bahrain head coach Helio Sousa managed their second championship after the West Asian Championship in August.

The third minute of the game registered the first scoring attempt from Saudi’s Salim al Dawsari who hit a tough ball from outside the box but it hit the bar. Switzerland referee Lionel Tschudi decided for a penalty to Saudi after Salim al Dawsari fell down in the box with Bahrain defender Jassim Ahmed in the 10th minute. Captain Salman al Faraj missed the penalty. Bahrain’s reaction was quick as Mahdi al Humaidan tried to penetrate to the Saudi box but he shot was saved by goalkeeper Fawaz al Qarni in the 14th minute. Both team players spirit were very high and delivered top quality match within 20 minutes.

The referee showed a yellow card to Saudi’s Sultan al Ghannam and another card for Bahrain Ahmed Nabil for their strong tackles.

Firas al Buraikan was very to score the opening goal for Saudi as he went inside the box but his shot went out in the 34th minute.

Mahdi al Humaidan was called into action again seven minutes later when he jumped to head a ball but Saudi goalkeeper was alert to foil the attempt. The first half ended in a goalless draw.

Saudi upped the tempo in the second half through forward Abdullah al Hamdan but the Bahraini defence was tough enough to break the attempts. Bahrain coach Helio Sousa replaced Ali Madan with Tiago Augusto to provide more fresh energy in the forward line in the 62nd minute.

Salim al Dawsari received a ball from Abdullah al Hamdan and hit it but went out in the 64th minute.

Saudi pushed for a goal as Yasir al Shahrani missed a golden opportunity when he shot a strong ball but it went away from the net in the 68th minute.

QUICK RESPONSE

Bahrain responded quickly and from an organised attempt Mahdi al Homidan send a perfect ball which was well connected by Mohammed al Rumaihi with a smart leg flip and the ball entered the right-hand corner of Saudi net in the 69th minute. Saudi coach Herve Renard brought in Abdul Fattah Tawfiq in place of Abdullah Otayf in the 72nd minute.

In the final 20 minutes, Saudi players pushed hard for an equaliser as they battled to stay in the contention. Feras al Brikan tried to sent strong ball but his shot was saved by the Bahrain goalkeeper Sayed Mohammed Jafar in the 88th minute. The referee Alexandar Boucaut added six extra minutes for second half. The extra time did not change in the final result as Bahrain players managed their leading to end the match with 1-0.

Among the individual awards, best player prize was won by Abdullah Otayf from Saudi Arabia. UAE striker Ali Mabkhout won the Golden Boot for top-scorer with five goals. Saudi goalkeeper Fawaz al Qarni won the honour for the best goalkeeper of the tournament.