Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Manama: Bahrain’s Al Hidd and Iraq’s Al Shorta remained in contention for a place in the last 16 of the AFC Cup heading into the final round of fixtures in Group B after sharing a 1-1 draw at Bahrain National Stadium on Tuesday.
Patrick Ifedayo’s 77th minute strike looked to have claimed all three points for Al Hidd only for Cameroon striker Boukar Makadji to equalise for Al Shorta with eight minutes remaining.
And with Jordan’s Al Jazeera beating Palestine’s Wad Alness 2-0 to earn their place in the last 16 with a game to spare, Al Shorta remain in second place but Mohamed Youssef’s side are just a point clear of Wad Alness with Al Hidd a further point off the pace.
“We missed two points because we missed chances to score, but a draw is good for us as we now have six points and we will host Al Jazeera in the next match in Doha and we have a good chance to qualify,” said Al Shorta coach Youssef.
“Al Jazeera have qualified for the next stage and we also have an important match next month.
“We made mistakes in this match, but my players played well.”
Al Shorta were by far the more adventurous of the two sides going forward in the first half, but despite enjoying significant possession in the final third, Al Hidd goalkeeper Abbas Ahmed was rarely threatened inside the opening half an hour.
Ahmed was finally called into action 10 minutes before half-time as the Al Hidd custodian had to be on his toes to turn a rising strike from Iraq international Dhurgham Ismail over the crossbar as the left-back fired in a crisp strike from the edge of the penalty area.
Al Shorta, though, almost found themselves behind three minutes before half-time as only a last-gasp sprawling point blank save from goalkeeper Mohammed Kassid denied Ifedayo after the Nigerian striker had seemed destined to score after meeting Ahmed Al Khattal’s chipped cross on the edge of the six yard area.
And despite being forced onto the backfoot for the majority of the second half, the home side should have taken the lead two minutes into the second half as striker Rico was sent clear of the Al Shorta backline, but the Brazilian failed to find the target while under pressure from sliding defender Ali Bahjat.
With the second half much more open, Al Hidd goalkeeper Ahmed was then at full-stretch eight minutes before the hour mark to push away Ismail’s free-kick from the edge of the area.
Ahmed was beaten with 17 minutes remaining, but Caion’s header hit the outside of the post after the Brazilian second-half substitute had found space on the edge of the six yard area.
And Al Hidd took full advantage four minutes later as Ifedayo was allowed to advance unchallenged towards the edge of the penalty area before firing a low shot into the bottom corner past the dive of Al Shorta goalkeeper Kassid.
But the lead lasted just five minutes as Makadji was on hand to stab home Ammar Al Asadi’s deflected pull-back from the edge of the six yard area to earn the visitors a point.
“The game was very important for our team because we hoped we could win to have a better chance to qualify,” said Al Hidd coach Salman Shareedah, with his side now needing to beat Wad Alness next month to remain in contention for a place in the last 16.
“We need to play better in the next match to get a better result. We hope to get a positive result in the next match even though we are tired after a long season.”
Photo: WSG