FOOTBALL – A’ALI and East Riffa claimed their maiden victories of the 2026-27 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League last night.
A’ali edged past Malkiya 1-0 while East Riffa defeated Al Najma 3-2 as the third matchweek of the new season continued at separate venues.
At Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town, Brazilian Robson Da Silva fired in the winning goal for A’ali in the 23rd minute. He hit a low, left-footed effort from inside the box after receiving a brilliant back-heeled pass from English teammate Lyton Julius Ndukwu.
Later in the contest, Malkiya appeared to draw level with a sensational strike from outside the area by Nigerian Ossy Martins Eugene in the 51st minute.
But his equaliser was cancelled after a VAR review determined that he had fouled A’ali’s Brazilian professional Michel Darlyn Dias Rocha in the lead-up to the goal.
With the result, A’ali improved to four points on the league table while Malkiya suffered their third successive setback and remained on zero points at the very bottom.
Meanwhile, at the National Stadium in Riffa, skipper Talal Alsherooqi opened East Riffa’s account with a 10th minute goal from inside the area. Brazilian teammate Gabriel Silva Azevedo Figueredo then found the net in the 35th minute to double their advantage.
Najma got one back with a header from Carlos Alberto Gulmaraes Filho, also from Brazil, just two minutes later. But East Riffa restored their two-goal cushion when Ahmed Habib struck from close range in the 71st minute.
Najma’s Brazilian import Rickson Barbosa da Conceicao later pegged the final score in the third minute of second-half injury time with a header from the face of goal.
Najma squandered a last-gasp opportunity to salvage a share of the points when Filho missed a penalty kick in the 10th minute of stoppage time, firing well wide of the target. Najma were awarded the spot kick after Hasan Madan was fouled by Abdelhalim Abbo in the box.
East Riffa also improved to four points on the standings while Najma stayed on three after their second defeat.
League action continues tonight with the concluding evening of matchweek three. Al Ahli and Al Ettifaq lock horns at the National Stadium while Hidd go head-to-head with Sitra at Khalifa Sports City Stadium, both kicking off at 7pm.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh