Rejj Sibayan (file photo) |
By Kevin Estrada
RIFFA, Bahrain--Bahrain defeated the Philippines, 2-0 in a feisty joint World Cup-Asian Cup Qualifier at the National Stadium Wednesday morning (Philippine time).
Strikes by Ismaeel Abdulatif Hasanand and Sayed Adnan Mohamad in the first 15 minutes of the second half saved Sergio Batista's blushes as the Bahrainis registered their first ever home win in the second round. It also erased their stinging 1-2 loss to the Azkals in Bulacan last July 11 to open their quest to Russia.
Their win, their second overall, pushes them to six points in Group H, a point behind their victims, three behind Uzbekistan who had a match in hand, and seven behind leaders North Korea who eked out a 1-0 win over cellar-dwellers Yemen in Pyongyang.
The physicality of the match was evident as more than 20 fouls were whistled by the referee.
Thomas Dooley's men had few chances far and between in the first half with captain Phil Younghusband fired the first warning shot in the first two minutes.
He almost gave the Azkals a halftime lead in added time but the header was just wide.
But the second half belonged to the hosts as Abdulatif tapped the ball into the net from six yard eight minutes from the restart.
Bahrain have doubled their lead a minute past the hour mark when the former Brisbane Roar defender fired a free kick in the bottom left corner of Etheridge's goal to settle the match.
The Azkals will have a full month to recover from this defeat as they host Yemen in Nov. 12 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, as Bahrain will take a bye on that day as well.
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