FOOTBALL – AL Ettifaq stunned two-time defending champions Muharraq last night while Al Khaldiya battled back from a goal down to oust 10-man A’ali in matchweek two of the 2026-27 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League.
Moroccan professional Anouar Frindi scored the decisive goal in the first half as last season’s Bahrain First Division title winners Ettifaq registered a 1-0 upset against heavily favoured Muharraq at Al Ahli Club Stadium in Mahooz.
Walid Sabbar, meanwhile, led Khaldiya’s furious comeback in their 3-1 win over A’ali at the National Stadium in Riffa. Sabbar fired in a second-half brace after teammate Gleison Wilson da Silva Moreira netted an equaliser.
League action continues tonight as the second round wraps up with another two fixtures on schedule.
Riffa lock horns with Manama at Ahli while Hidd face off with Ahli at the National Stadium. Both games are scheduled for 7pm kick-offs.
Ettifaq went ahead in their hotly contested clash with Muharraq in the 38th minute when Frindi headed in from the face of goal. He was on the receiving end of a corner-kick delivered by Malian teammate Soungalo Bagayoko and was unmarked as he rose for his attempt.
Muharraq pressed to get back on level terms and appeared to have done so later in the 73rd minute through substitute Hussain Abdulkarim. He scored from the goal mouth off a short headed pass from Edimar Ribeiro da Costa Junior following a cross from the right wing by Abdulkarim Oumar Diarra.
Ettifaq contended, however, that Moroccan Abdelghafour Mehri was fouled by Brazilian Bruno Araujo Santos in the lead-up to the goal, and after a lengthy VAR review, Abdulkarim’s strike was cancelled.
Ettifaq then did enough over the match’s closing stages to hold on to their slim advantage until the final whistle, earning head coach and former Muharraq star Faouzi Aaish his maiden win and their team’s first points in the kingdom’s top flight.
Muharraq remained winless after two games and are on one point from their opening draw against Ahli.
At the National Stadium last night, A’ali were first on the board when Brazilian Diego Cardoso Nogueira showed his class with a stunning 26th-minute strike. Nogueira received the ball from Hassan Oumar Abdelaziz just outside the box, turned, and unleashed a fine right-footed effort amidst three Khaldiya defenders and past opposing goalkeeper Mohammed Elgharably.
His opener was enough to send A’ali into the locker rooms with the lead, but Khaldiya roared back after the re-start.
Moreira sparked their rally when he guided the ball home in the 67th minute off a cross from the right by South African teammate Patrick Tito Maswanganyi. The pass was not cleared by the A’ali defence; instead, Abdulaziz Arif Almaran headed the ball directly into Moreira’s path, and he took advantage with a short stab.
Khaldiya took the lead just five minutes later when Sabbar scored his first goal on hit a free-kick from more than 20 yards out, which flew into the right of the net past A’ali custodian Omar Salem. Sabbar then applied the nail in the coffin in the 84th minute, playing a brilliant one-two with Maswanganyi, who set him up perfectly with a lobbed pass to score from close range.
Right before full time, A’ali defender Aziz Qassem Ben Jemia was given his marching orders after a dangerous tackle on Moreira earned him his second yellow card in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time.
Khaldiya maintained their perfect start to the 2026-27 season and climbed to the top of the table with six points. A’ali stayed on one point and are still searching for their first victory.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh