Manama: Riffa’s slim hopes of advancing to the Round of 16 of the 2015 AFC Cup came to an end as the Bahrainis were held to a 1-1 draw by Group D leaders Al Jaish that ensured former champions Kuwait SC advanced alongside the Syrians.
Sayed Ali Hashem scored in the 72nd minute for Riffa to cancel out Bassel Moustafa’s 36th minute opener for Al Jaish, but it was not enough to ensure the Bahrainis were capable of advancing with one round of group matches remaining.
“We went into the match looking for a win but we failed to achieve our target,” said coach Branko Karacic. “We had a slow performance in the first period and conceded an early goal which affected the players, who lost their concentration.
“We tried to improve our performance in the second half and had some scoring chances but we could only score the equaliser. Our opponents took advantage of one chance and scored which gave them a point from the match.”
Riffa went looking for the opening goal from the start but, despite dominating, it was Al Jaish who took the lead nine minutes before halftime when Moustafa linked up well with Abdulla Zayed before hitting a powerful shot beyond goalkeeper Hamad Al Doseri.
Needing a win to keep pace with Kuwait SC, Riffa needed to score twice in the second 45 minutes and, with 18 minutes remaining, they pulled level when Hashem headed home Husein Salman’s corner from the left, but it was too little too late for the Bahrainis.
“The match was important and we put in a good performance,” said Al Jaish coach Anas Makhlouf. “Scoring in the first half gave us a good advantage but we conceded the equaliser in the second period because our players lost concentration.
“We missed some scoring chances in the second half when Riffa pushed forward and we should have sealed the win. We are now at the top of the group and hopefully we can win the last match against Nejmeh in order to remain on top.”
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