FOOTBALL – RIFFA and Al Ahli were both victorious last night in their respective matchweek 20 fixtures in the 2025-26 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League.
Riffa powered to a resounding 4-0 victory over Al Shabab at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town, with Thiago Augusto Fernandes posting a brace. Brazilian Gabryel Monteiro de Andrade and Dutch professional Mohamed Hamadaoui were also on target, as star teammate Wellington Moreira assisted on three of their team’s conversions.
Ahli, on the other hand, outclassed 10-man Sitra 2-0 at the National Stadium in Riffa, as Victor Gabriel de Oliveira from Brazil and Abdulla Al Hashash scored on either side of the break.
In Riffa’s win yesterday, they were held goalless in the first half but then needed only two minutes after the re-start to open their account. Fernandes put them in front after heading in from close range off a cross from the right delivered by Wellington Moreira. Fernandes’ effort bounced off the bottom of the crossbar but had gone past the goal line before being punched away by Shabab custodian Rashed Aldoseri.
De Andrade then got his name onto the score sheet when he put Riffa ahead 2-0 on the hour mark. Moreira again provided a precision pass, setting de Andrade up brilliantly from the right of the area.
Riffa were cruising at this point and Hamadaoui extended their advantage to 3-0 seven minutes later. He fired in with a brilliant effort from a couple of yards outside the box that flew into the right of the net.
Fernandes then delivered his second goal and pegged the final score two minutes from the end of regular time. He guided the ball into an empty net following Moreira’s third in his hat-trick of assists. Moreira had his shot saved by Aldoseri but reclaimed possession before threading the ball to a waiting Fernandes in the goalmouth.
With the result, Riffa secured their 13th triumph and improved to 43 points as they will almost certainly finish the campaign in third place on the standings. They handed Shabab their 12th defeat as Shabab are on the verge of joining already-relegated Bahrain Club in a drop to the Bahrain First Division for the 2026-27 season.
In last night’s other contest, Ahli took the lead after only eight minutes when de Oliveira scored with a short stab from right outside the six-yard box. He connected on a cross from Al Hashash, which was not dealt with by the Sitra back line.
In the 56th minute, Ibrahim Jamal Osman was given a red card after impeding the progress towards goal of Ahli’s Brazilian professional Joao Vitor Cutinho Maia as Sitra’s last man.
Ahli made the most of their advantage and Al Hashash doubled their lead in the 70th minute following an unselfish play from Baqer Alasfoor. He rounded Sitra goalkeeper Yusuf Habib Mansoor and passed to an unmarked Al Hashash, who slotted home from the face of goal into an empty goal.
Ahli claimed their seventh victory of this campaign and rose to 26 points in mid-table, while Sitra suffered their ninth defeat and stayed on 21. Sitra are still in danger of needing to play in the end-of-season relegation play-offs, which will feature the ninth and 10th-placed teams on the standings along with the third and fourth-ranked squads from this year’s Bahrain First Division.
League action resumes with the 21st and penultimate round on Sunday and Monday next week.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh