Courtesy: Gulf Daily News


Iraq hold Bahrain in futsal opener

Saturday, December 10, 2011

BAHRAIN's national futsal team were denied a flying start in the West Asian Championship, being held in Kuwait, after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Iraq yesterday. Mohammed Al Shaqawi and Mohammed Radhi were on target for the nationals in this Group 'B' opener, held at Al Arabi Club's gym. Lebanon and the UAE are the other teams in this group.

The Bahrainis headed into this key clash needing victory to boost their chances of finishing in the top two to book a berth in the semi-finals

They proved the better side in the early stages and took the lead through Al Sharqawi's long-range shot in the 10th minute.

Bahrain continued to dominate the proceedings and managed to double their advantage thanks to Radhi, nicknamed 'Moshi', with an outstanding finish.

But Bahrain, coached by Ihsan Al Abbasi, went back to defend their area, allowing Iraq to press forward and create scoring chances from all over the court.

The Iraqis took advantage of Bahrain's defensive lapses to find the back of the net on two occasions in the space of three minutes with goals from Mustafa Mohammed and Karrar Mohsin.

Al Abbasi was also banking on Mahmood Al Sharqawi, Thamer Shammous and Mohammed Sultan, Ayman Al Abbasi, Hussain Kazerooni, Bassil Sultan and Yasser Hassan. Other members are Mohammed Al Satrawi, Hamad Dassas, Jassim Saleh, Ali Saleh, Mohammed Radhi and Sayed Mohammed Hameed.

Bahrain will next take on Lebanon today in their second game.





Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com